


anything is possible the second time around

by cloverblob



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, F/M, Gen, Leia Organa-centric, Rise of Skywalker compliant, Skywalker Family Drama, Time Travel, Twins Past is Canon But Time Travel Can Change Things, Twins-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 16:14:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 34,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21941050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloverblob/pseuds/cloverblob
Summary: Leia Organa is sure that she died. She laid herself down, ready to become one with the Force. Except that she isn't dead--she hasn't even been born. So how did she end up on Tatooine? And why would fate bring her right here, right now?
Relationships: Leia Organa & Anakin Skywalker, Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker, Padmé Amidala & Leia Organa, Padmé Amidala & Luke Skywalker, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 114
Kudos: 595





	1. prologue

This is funny, honestly. She had to see the cosmic humour in all of this, because if she can’t see the humour, then she’s just kind of stuck here with very low chance of escape and a high chance of slowly dying a painful death. And, quite frankly, she’d been in worse situations than this one dozens of times, what was one more?

It doesn’t even make sense. She died. She died for that stupid child of hers, that she loved so damn much that it literally killed her. She knows she died because she saw her stupid brother reach out to her with that cheeky grin on his face and Luke Skywalker was also definitely dead.

And then suddenly Leia was falling out of the sky, desperately reaching for the Falcon’s manual controls.

She must have done something right because she had miraculously crashed with little more than a few scrapes and bruises. The Falcon, on the other hand, was a little worse for wear. Quickly, she had set off the extinguishers, and then hopped out to appraise the pile of junk.

And now, here she was, staring at a crashed ship in the middle of a desert with no idea where she was or how she got here.

It occurred to Leia that she might be in a dream. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d had prophetic dreams, or the first time that she felt like she was trapped in one. But, this one was different. She had too much autonomy… and everything felt off. She wouldn’t claim to be the Jedi her brother was, but even she could sense that things were wrong. Or at least, that they were wrong to her.

The galaxy had a balance, and sometimes that balance shifted from side to side, often heavily and without reason, but right now, the balance was spinning like a compass on a planet with two magnetic poles.

That, however, was a later problem. If there was anything Leia was good at, it was tackling problems. She didn’t have the luxury of dealing with this Force issue until she dealt with her current situation first. And so, she gathered herself and began assessing the damage on the ship.

There had been a fire on two of the three rear engines, hull damage to the front of the ship where it crashed, and the landing pads were shattered and scattered across the sand.

Leia started to laugh again. She had _just_ died, she shouldn’t have to be dealing with this crap. Sixty years of nonsense just like this and she couldn’t believe she wasn’t even allowed the sweet release of nothingness after death. Wasn’t her essence supposed to join the Force or something?

Sighing, she went back into the Falcon and began to dig through the compartments for a suitable makeshift desert mask and boots. With her limited practical knowledge of ship mechanics, she decided her best bet was to climb the tallest sand dune nearby and find her bearings. Using the Force, she was able to sense some lifeforms within what she figured was a reasonable distance—the problem being she had no idea what lifeforms they were or if they were willing to help.

Preparing herself for the trek, she stashed a bottle of water, a blaster, and her brother’s lightsaber into her satchel and began to make her way out into the sand.

Walking along the dunes, in the blasted suns, she slowly reached a hand to the lightsaber in the satchel and wrapped her hand around the hilt. Using it as a tether, she called out for her brother, desperate for a response. After all, they were both dead right? The least his ghost could do was lead her through the desert after leaving her to fend for herself for the past decade or so.

Leia didn’t get a response, not that she expected she might, and sighed again. This was not going to be a great day.

She continued along her path, struggling against the sand and the heat as she climbed to the top of the dune. She stumbled a little, her feet getting deeper into the sand than she had expected. It was then that she sensed it, and looked up with a jolt. It was a speeder, coming in from over the horizon. She watched with cautious curiosity as it approached and realized its trajectory toward the Falcon.

Whoever was on it must have seen the crash, or at least noticed the smoke hailing from the fire along the skyline. Leia herself had barely registered the signal of billowing black smoke that had risen from the junk pile that she thought of as home.

If anything, judging from the surrounding desert, they were probably scavengers hoping to salvage something from the wreck. Realizing that the speeder was going to blow right past her, Leia reached into her satchel and pulled out her blaster. She aimed it into the sky and shot twice.

For a moment, she didn’t think they would notice, still heading toward the Falcon, but then the speeder changed course and headed straight for her instead. She steeled herself then, knees slightly bent, blaster held tightly in her hand. She kept it at an angle that indicated she wasn’t looking to shoot anyone but was willing to if need be.

The speeder stopped at the base of the sand dune she had been climbing, thirty yards down, and a figure jumped out.

“Hello?” He called out loudly, one hand above his brow to keep the sun out of his eyes as he looked up at her. With his other hand, he pointed toward the wreck. “Was that your ship?”

“Yes,” she replied, equally as loud, setting her feet at an angle to start making her way down the dune. She let gravity do most of the work, sliding down the sand more than walking. “Are you here to rescue me?”

The man shrugged. “I saw you come down from a few clicks that way. Didn’t think anyone would be alive, but thought I should check it out anyway.”

Leia nodded. “I’m grateful you did, I could really use a hand. Do you think you could give me a ride to the nearest port? I could pay you for your trouble.” That was a lie, but she decided she could figure that out once she got there.

“I would,” he replied, “but there’s a storm coming. I don’t want to get caught up in it on my drive back home.”

At that, Leia frowned, looking up into the horizon as she reached the bottom of the dune. The skies seemed perfectly clear to her. She looked back at him, now that she was much closer, and noted his appearance. He wore beige robes with a hood on, but she could see his youthful face with a bit of scruff and short brown hair beneath it, not much older than a teenager.

“How do you know?” Leia asked, attaching her blaster to her belt: not tucked away, but not expressing any immediate threat.

“The sand is bouncing along the ground,” he answered matter of factly, as though it were obvious. To someone from the desert though, she supposed it _was_ obvious. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” she replied. “I’m alright. A few scrapes, but I’ll live.” Somehow.

“How are you alive?” he asked, scrutinous. His eyes narrowed to study her.

“Just lucky, I guess.” Leia answered with a throwaway shrug. She realized the unlikeliness of her own survival, but this wasn’t the first time she had unwittingly used the Force to protect herself. He didn’t need to know the details.

His studious eyes must not have deemed her a threat as he headed back toward his speeder. “I’ll take you back to my farm for the night,” he said. “You can decide what you want to do when the storm is lifted. Do you need anything from your ship?”

Suddenly, Leia let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “No,” she replied. “Nothing I can really use right now. How can I ever thank you?” She made her way to the other side of the speeder and climbed in next to him.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said with a smile, turning on the engine and taking off back toward the direction he had come from. “My girlfriend would kill me if I didn’t offer our hospitality.”

Leia smiled back. “Are we far from your home?”

“Barely,” he replied. “You’re lucky. If you landed any further away you’d have been caught by sand people or your ship would have been stripped by Jawas already.

Her expression immediately sobered at his explanation, and Leia took another scan along the desert landscape to catch sight of the suns above. “Are we on Tatooine?”

He let out a breathy chuckle. “You don’t know what planet we’re on? Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

Leia shook her head. “How am I on Tatooine,” she muttered, before looking back to the kind young man. “What’s the nearest spaceport?”

“Well, Anchorhead’s the closest town, but the main port is Mos Eisley,” he answered. “It’s not the safest place for a nice young lady like yourself to be, but I can escort you there tomorrow.”

Flattered, Leia chuckled and shook her head. “Thank you, but just a ride will be okay. I’m tougher than I look.”

He shrugged but didn’t argue. “Say, what’s your name anyway?” He asked, glancing at her.

“I’m Leia,” she responded. “And yourself?”

“Owen,” he said with a smile. “Owen Lars.”


	2. i promise i will bring you back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leia has never turned down anyone in need of help and she wasn't going to start now.

Leia could hardly believe that she was faced with more confusion now than when she had woken up from her death and crash landed not one hour ago. For the long ride back, she had studied the smoothness of her hands, the lightness of her own voice, the ease with which she was able to walk again. Though she could not see her own face, she knew it must be unmarred by the passage of time.

She had spent the past year using a cane for comfort after her near death before the Battle of Crait. In the adrenaline of her crash, she had barely noticed the lightness in her own step until now. Everything was easier. And still more confusing.

The trip to Owen’s farm was longer than she had anticipated, though the never-ending landscapes of sand did allow for a good measure of distance. Owen must have rushed out to her rescue as soon as the wreck had happened.

Soon, they arrived at the Lars home, most of it below the sand surface. She had never stayed on Tatooine for long, but imagined that the buildings must all have similar structure.

“Come on,” Owen urged, already making his way down a set of delicately carved steps.

The wind was picking up, and by the furthest cliffs, Leia could spot the brewing sandstorm in the distance. She nodded, putting her satchel back on, and followed him down the stairway into his home.

“Master Owen has returned,” came a familiar voice, and it made Leia’s heart skip a beat. Her eyes followed the sound to a protocol droid covered in worn, tinted metal. Yet again, more confusion.

“Beru, Dad!” Owen called out. “We have a guest for the night.”

Hearing the name of Owen’s girlfriend, Leia swallowed thickly. She could allow no more plausible deniability.

Leia had never met her uncle, and knew only the stories Luke had shared with her. Those stories weren’t the epic adventures of war they had shared with one another, they were small stories. He told her of the day Owen had taught a five year old Luke how to ride a speeder or when Owen had sat with him to fix up their first droid together. They were memories of a small boy and the only father he had ever known.

In turn, Leia had shared her memories of Alderaan too, though she sometimes felt less inclined after Luke shared his. They could not have had different upbringings, and Leia often felt a sense of guilt at the privilege and splendour in which she had grown up. She was content with listening to Luke’s stories, and after all, he really did enjoy sharing.

But these little stories, plentiful as they were, were just flashes of memories—fragments Leia could only piece together. She had no frame of reference for who this young man in front of her was, or how to navigate the situation she had found herself in.

“Beru, this is Leia,” Owen said, having guided her to the dining room.

Beru smiled, offering out a hand to shake.

Leia took it, smiling in return. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said.

“It was her ship that crashed out west,” Owen explained.

“Are you all right?” Beru asked, concerned, and already heading to the kitchenette to pour her a glass of water.

Leia nodded, “Yes, it’s a miracle, but somehow I’m unscathed.”

Owen pulled out a seat at the dining table, offering it to Leia.

Not one to be impolite, she accepted and sat down at the table, glad to be indoors and out of the sand and heat. Beru came shortly, placing the water and what appeared to be some sort of chips down in front of her.

“Thank you,” Leia said, gratefully taking a long swig of water. “You’re both very kind.”

It was then that another man came into the room, riding a wheelchair and followed by the protocol droid.

“What did Owen say your name was?” He asked, sliding up to an empty spot at the table and reaching out his hand.

She took it, offering a firm shake. “Leia,” she responded shortly.

“I see,” he said. “I’m Cleigg. This is my farm.”

“And I am C3PO, human-cyborg relations,” the droid added.

Unable to hide her familiar smile, she chuckled softly and responded, “It’s nice to meet you both.” Leia had no idea how Threepio came to be in service of this family. She had always assumed him to be her father’s droid, he had been in their employ since before she could remember. The questions were only piling up more.

“Glad to see you’re alright,” Cleigg said. “What about your ship? Salvageable?”

Leia blinked, wondering for a moment if he intended some use for it. He didn’t seem the scavenger type, however and she shook the suspicion from her mind. “I’m not sure,” she replied. “I’m not much of a mechanic. But I hope I can get it back and running, that ship has taken me through a lot.”

Owen took a seat at the table beside Leia. “I think it can run again,” he offered. “Unless scavengers pick it apart, it’ll take quite a few parts and some extra hands, but it looks like just a few days of repair.”

“A few days?” She repeated. “It’s in the middle of nowhere. I’m not sure how feasible that is.”

“Maybe if you could find someone to transport it,” he suggested.

Leia grimaced. “I’m a bit short on money and resources at the moment.”

“I thought you offered to pay me to give you a ride,” Owen said. The lightness in his tone indicated he wasn’t particularly serious about it.

Sheepishly, Leia put on her best apologetic smile. “Sorry,” she said. “I might have stretched the truth a little bit.”

“We don’t have much,” Cleigg said. “But you’re welcome to stay here for a spell until you figure out how you’re going to get your transport back. We could use the good will.”

“Oh?” Leia questioned, sensing something loaded behind that statement.

Cleigg frowned. “Had some bad luck with the Tuskens around here lately.”

“Something happened?” She pushed further.

“My wife,” he said. “She was taken a couple weeks back. I’ve been hoping to find her, get some closure at least.”

“I’m so sorry,” Leia said quietly. She always found herself to be a terrible comfort in times like these.

“That’s why I was out so far from home,” Owen explained. “Looking for some kind of lead.”

“That’s how you got to me so quick,” she pieced together. It was all so… convenient. A younger Leia might have been hostile to the scenario she found herself in. Now, she wasn’t sure there wasn’t some larger force at play putting her and Owen right where they needed to be, when they needed to be there. For what purpose though? Leia hadn’t figured that out yet.

“I’m going to ask a question, and it’s going to sound silly,” Leia warned, turning her gaze to each other them in turn. “What year is it?”

Owen and Beru glanced at each other at that, unsure what to make of such a strange question.

“It’s 3255 Lothal,” Cleigg answered for them. “Did you hit your head in the crash?”

Leia exhaled, doing the mental math to convert Outer Rim dates to her own calendar. “Like I told Owen, I’m honestly not sure how I came to be here. I wasn’t on my way to Tatooine. Last I remember, I wasn’t even on that ship.”

“We might be able to find you a communicator, you can reach out to your contacts.”

“I think it’s a little more complicated than that,” Leia said vaguely, turning her gaze toward the window as gusts of wind and sand began to buffet against it.

“I’m going to go get a room prepared for you,” Beru said, breaking the quiet that had fallen in the room. “Please finish eating.”

Leia suddenly became aware of the plate in front of her, and began to eat.

“You must be a long way off,” Cleigg noted. “No offence meant, but you don’t seem like a woman who’s lived her life on the Outer Rim.”

Cleigg was more astute than Leia had given him credit for. The way she spoke, the manner in which she walked, her delicate features, the lack of wear on her hands—she was a princess through and through.

“You’re right,” Leia said. “I’m from Alderaan, originally.”

“Well, worst comes to worst with your ship, I have some contacts in Mos Eisley, we could probably get you a ride home.”

Leia’s breath caught in her throat. She hadn’t dared given that a moment’s thought before he said it. A wash of homesickness suddenly overcame her, the likes of which she hadn’t felt in decades. “If it comes to that, I would be very grateful. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Cleigg replied.

—————

Leia followed Owen to the room Beru had made up for her. It wasn’t much, not that she expected anything more, but it was cozy.

“This is perfect, thank you,” Leia said, taking off her satchel and tossing it on the bed. Beru had left a towel and some clean clothes on the bed.

“There’s a fresher right down the hall if you need it,” he told her, stepping into the room to make sure the window was secure against the storm.

“I cannot tell you how happy I would be to take a shower,” she said with a laugh, reaching down to fetch the towel. She also couldn’t wait to study her own face in the mirror.

Owen nodded, having been out all day in the sun with her. “You never quite get used to the sand in your underclothes.”

“I’m beginning to realize that,” Leia agreed.

He began to make his way out of the room to give her some privacy, but stopped in the doorway. “I don’t mean to pry. But, are you a Jedi?”

Quick on her feet, Leia gave an oblivious smile. “I beg your pardon?”

Owen nodded toward her satchel on the bed. “I don’t know much about the Jedi, but I know what their weapons look like.”

Peeking out from her bag, the lightsaber hilt was reflecting the light of the room. She gave a deep sigh at her carelessness and turned back to Owen.

“It’s complicated,” she replied. And it was. Leia had trouble reconiciling her stature as a Jedi. As she learned the ways of the Force from her brother, she grew in power and knowledge, but she also she became more aware of the darkness from within. When Ben was conceived, she threw away the life of a Jedi entirely, haunted by her visions of the future. A future that came to pass whether she decided to be a Jedi or not, it seemed.

“Like I said, I don’t mean to pry,” Owen retreated. “It’s just…”

Leia waited for him to finish his sentence, but stopped when she realized he didn’t quite have the words. “You need a Jedi’s help.”

“My stepmother,” he said as explanation. “I know my dad thinks she’s gone, it’s been so long, but I don’t know. Just a funny feeling.”

Leia nodded. “And you think I could find her?”

“To be honest,” he replied, “I don’t really know how the Jedi do what they do. But from the stories I’ve heard, they have the power of twenty men, maybe more.“

“Do you have anything of hers? Something she used often?”

Owen nodded, quickly rushing out of the room to go find the object he hand in mind.

Leia sighed, and sat down on the edge of the bed. This was probably a mistake. She had already given him her real name, let him know about her homeworld, and now he would know she was a Jedi.But in the end, she could never turn down someone in need.

For all she knew, his stepmother was dead and she would confirm it in a few minutes, maybe offer a bit of closure. Or maybe not.

Owen reentered the room hurriedly, stopping in front of Leia and holding a white shawl.

Before she took it from him, she offered an apologetic smile. “I want to warn you, this might not work. It’s… been a while.”

Owen nodded, but Leia could tell he had already gotten his hopes up and she immediately felt a pang of guilt.

“Before I try anything, what was your stepmothers name again?” she asked, putting down her towel and straightening her back in meditative position. She wondered if she already somehow knew the answer.

“Shmi,” he answered. “Shmi Skywalker.”

Leia looked at him for a moment too long before taking a deep breath. Maybe this wasn’t a mistake after all, maybe this was why she was here. She opened her palms, and he placed the shawl in her hands and took a step back.

Leia closed her eyes, and reached out. Unsure what she expected, she gasped. She could sense fear and pain and urgency, and wanted nothing more than for it just to end. There was so much suffering and torture with no rhyme or reason and Leia found herself overcome with nausea.

When she opened her eyes again, Owen was in front of her, having knelt down to her eye level. He looked at her expectantly, waiting for a response.

Carefully, she placed the shawl on the bed at her side. “Owen… I’m not sure. It doesn’t look good.”

“But she’s alive?” He said hopefully, eyebrows raised.

She nodded. “Barely,” she said. “I don’t know if we can help her.”

“There’s hope though, right? We have to try,” he urged.

Leia couldn’t stand against that sad look in his eye.

“My dad hasn’t been himself since she was taken,” he continued. “He blames himself, but it’s my fault too. I should have gone with her that morning.”

“There’s hope,” she said.

He stood up straight, and took a deep breath.

“Give me a moment to rest,” she asked of him. “I’ll try to figure out a plan, and we’ll head out when the storm breaks, okay?”

“Of course,” he said. “I’ll come back in a bit.”

———————

Leia had to admit that she was still so confused. Her brother would tell her to trust her feelings, use the Force to guide her. He was an optimist. She was a little more pragmatic. What little she knew of the Lars family, she knew even less about her grandmother.

That’s who she was to Leia, and the thought was so very strange. Darth Vader having a mother at all was the oddest idea in her mind. The thought that people might feel a similar way about her being Kylo Ren’s mother nudged its way into her thoughts, but she pushed it aside before it had the time to haunt her.

Having showered and donned her set of Beru’s clothing, Leia took a seat cross-legged on the floor. She would meditate and try to find guidance in the Force, just the way Luke would want.

Eventually, she drew up a rough plan in her mind. It was little more reckless than anything she would normally come up with, but she wasn’t General Organa here. This wasn’t a war tactic, and she was no leader, she had to think like a Jedi. And while she’d admit she didn’t know very many Jedi or what they would do, she figured she could also use her experience as a scrappy rebel to her advantage.

When the storm began to teeter off, Owen came to her before she could make her way to him. He had packed a sack of supplies; medical aid, water bottles, and two blaster rifles.

It was still dark and dawn had not yet broken when they stepped outside when Owen loaded the bag into the back of the speeder. Leia had attached her own weapons to her belt which she then hid under a cloak.

“Where are we headed?” He asked as she got into the passenger seat.

Leia took a moment, let her feelings take over, and pointed toward a spot eastwards.

“Are you sure?” He questioned. “The Tusken encampment we’ve tracked is a little further south.”

She nodded. “Trust me. We’re taking a little detour first.”

Owen decided that he would trust her, and they sped off in that direction.

Knowing they were still a ways off, Leia turned to him. “Can I ask about your protocol droid? Where did you get him from?”

“Strange fella isn’t he?” He said with a laugh. “He’s Shmi’s actually. I don’t know where she got him, she was a slave before dad met her. He was probably cheap because he’s so annoying.”

Leia laughed softly at his characterization of C3PO, not allowing herself to stomach the thought that her grandmother was once a slave--that was too much to process right now. To her, Threepio was priceless. No matter how much he got under Leia’s skin, he got under Han’s way more — and that was worth the world to her.

Looking off into the distance, Leia supposed the desert was beautiful in its own way. She only had bad memories of this place: Han frozen in carbonite, captured by Jabba, her friends almost dying in the Sarlac pit, and the first time she had ever killed someone with her bare hands. Only bad memories. She hoped she wasn’t about to make one more.

“Are we close?” Owen asked after a while, starting to doubt Leia’s conviction.

“Yes,” she responded to his surprise. “Do you see that valley of rocks there? I’m going to get out and circle around in a moment. I need you to drive through the valley at a slower pace. Do you understand?”

“Am I bait?” He asked worriedly.

“Yes,” she responded honestly. “Can you handle it?”

He bit his lip, thinking on it for a moment before nodding. “I’ll do my best.”

Leia smiled warmly. “Don’t worry. I’ve done this kind of thing before. It usually never goes wrong.”

“Usually?”

She smiled again, cheeky this time, and jumped out of the speeder before he had a chance to say anything more. Owen watched her rush across the sand before finally disappearing behind the silhouette of rocks.

Breathing heavily, he slowed the speeder down and continued on the path toward the valley. He worried about the timing of his driving, not sure if she would have the time to get in position. But, he decided to continue to trust her (they had come this far already) and pushed forward.

When he reached the valley, he was sure he saw movement in between the rock formations but had trouble following them. Owen continued on through, waiting for a sign of something to do. He kept one hand on the speeder’s controls and the other gripped to handle of his blaster rifle.

“Come on…” he whispered, keeping course in the darkness.

He heard movement around him suddenly, and sucked in his breath as though his silence would keep him safe. Rustling movements grew closer and Owen heard the growl before he felt his speeder get hit from the side spinning him a little off his course.

He stopped the speeder and raised his blaster, pointing it off in the direction he’d heard the noise. Silence followed aside from the sound of his rapid breath.

In the dim light of the first sun peeking over the horizon, he saw a figure go flying across the valley into a set of rocks. Another screamed loudly running straight for Leia, who was standing in front of it unarmed.

“Watch out!” Owen screamed, and realized what he’d done instead was break her concentration.

She received the brunt of a hit from the tusken’s staff and went tumbling backwards. Somehow though, she still landed on her feet and recovered. Shaking her head, Leia splayed out her hand in front of her and the raider went flying like the other one. She followed in pursuit of its rag doll body as it hit the ground.

Owen climbed out of the speeder when he saw her begin to huddle over the tusken’s body and made his way toward her.

“Are you alright?” He asked, studying her.

She held one hand at her side in pain, but nodded in response. “Help me get his cloak and boots off.”

“You’re going to wear this?” He asked, one hand already holding tightly to the raider’s knee, the other tugging his boot off of his foot.

“Some Jedi might have the strength of twenty men, Owen,” she said, “but I don’t. I’m going to sneak into the camp and get Shmi out. Hopefully without anyone noticing.”

“Are you sure that will work? Even with these, you don’t look anything like a sandperson.”

“I’m fairly sure I can guide their suspicions off of me,” she said.

“Okay,” he conceded, helping her shrug off her own cloak to put on the tattered tusken one instead.

Finally, Leia pulled the hood over her head, the shadow of it cloaking her face. Suddenly, she did a weak growl into the sky, a weak imitation of the tuskens. “How do I look?”

“Short,” he replied.

Shrugging, Leia summoned the raider staff to her hand and smiled at Owen. “It’ll have to do.”

Worriedly, Owen headed back toward his speeder. “Where are we off to now?”

“Sorry, Owen,” she said. “I’ll go on my own from here. I spotted the tusken’s speederbike hidden around the bend of the valley. I’ll blend in easier that way.”

“What if you don’t come back?” He asked.

“I will,” she promised, leaning over the side of his speeder to grab the bag of supplies he had packed earlier. She took a hold of his hand to make sure he was paying attention. “Keep that blaster on you your way back, be cautious, just in case.”

He nodded seriously.

“May the Force be with you,” she said, squeezing his hand once before letting go.

Leia took a step back and waited for his speeder to leave the valley before turning back to the other side. She spotted the first raider against the wall of rock beginning to stir and headed toward him. Worried that he might somehow make his people aware of her presence, she knelt down beside him and waved her hand across him to make him pass out.

For a moment, it didn’t work and he reached out to grab her. Taking a step back.

“You will calm down,” she ordered with another wave of her hand.

He stood up.

“You will sit down and take a long nap,” she repeated, completely unsure if she was doing it right.

He took a half step closer before pausing. For a few moments he stared at her, before falling to the floor and tucking his arm under him for a nap.

Leia let out a breath of relief before turning around and quickly striding over to the hidden speederbike.

The ride was smaller than Owen’s, and slower, but Leia would make do. She wondered about the poor soul that might have lost their vehicle to the raiders, having trouble focusing on the ride. She pulled down the raider’s goggles to keep the sand out of her eyes and reached out to sense Shmi’s presence in the encampment over the hill.

Leia could hear the cacophony of a busy tusken camp before it came into view. It was like a small city, dozens of them going about their day. She could spot the children playing amongst a set of ruined buildings, adults gathered around camps and fires.

It was almost so normal, she felt the disconnect between the scene in front of her and the actions of how they lived their lives. Not wanting to upset herself, Leia shrugged it off and guided her bike next to a motley of similar speeders near a guarded set of boulders.

She forced out a false sense of calm to the pair of raiders who sat nearby as she parked the bike, secured the supply bag out of their sight line, and began to make her way through the camp.

Somehow, Leia knew exactly where Shmi was. It was an odd sensation, she had only ever felt this strong of a connection to two other people in her life. It was familial and completely unfamiliar all at the same time. This had to be the reason she was here.

Sure of herself, Leia weaved through the crowd attempting to appear more casual than making a straight beeline to the tent.

Finally, she reached her target, looking around warily before climbing inside. Leia was taken aback by the sight before her, but swallowed her feelings and rushed to her grandmother’s side.

“Shmi Skywalker?” She asked, hurriedly undoing the ropes that bound her hands. She was trying to be quick, but her hands were chafed and red, stains of blood spilt across her clothing.

“Who are you?” Shmi asked, her voice hoarse and quiet.

“My name is Leia,” she replied, doing a once over of Shmi’s condition before resting her on the ground. “Your stepson asked me to come find you.”

“Owen’s here?”

“No, but he’s safe. Waiting for us to return.”

What happened next was pure instinct, driven by her heightened state. Leia spun around, lightsaber drawn, and felled the raider the moment it entered the tent. She withdrew her saber as quickly as she’s drawn it. Not thinking too much about what had just happened, she rushed to drag the body into the corner, shifting uncomfortably at the smell of charred flesh.

“Can you walk?” Leia asked, though she was fairly sure she knew the answer was no.

“I don’t think so,” Shmi answered weakly, though she managed to right herself into a self-sustained sitting position.

Dejectedly, Leia reached one arm under Shmi’s knees and another around her shoulders and thanked the Force for her youthful body. Unfortunately, Shmi was mostly dead weight and Leia also had to use the will of the Force to help carry.

Steeling herself for whatever was on the other side of that tent flap, she adjusted the woman in her arms and whispered into her ear. “Don’t make a sound, please. I promised I would bring you back, don’t make me a liar.”

Almost imperceptibly, Shmi nodded once and tucked her head against Leia’s shoulder.

Leia ducked around the tent toward the outer edge of the encampment. It was a longer route, but would better keep them out of view. It was impossible for her to focus on carrying Shmi while also forcibly keeping eyes off of them, and Leia felt the exhaustion already kicking in.

As the parkade of speeders came into view, Leia already knew she had been made. She looked around, eyes wide as a group of raiders made their way toward her.

“Hold on,” she warned, picking up her speed before breaking into a run. She reached the speeders, and with less care than she intended, placed Shmi in the backseat of the closest one she could find. She hurried to run the engine while reaching one hand out to bring the supply bag to her with the Force. Just as she took off, she clasped the strap and blindly drove forward away from the camp.

When laser blasts shot past her, she reached into the bag and pulled out Owen’s rifle. Not really caring which way they were driving, she turned around and aimed back at her attackers, carefully aiming only at the few speeders than decided to pursue her.

When the offending blasts finally tapered off, she relaxed, turned off into the direction of the Lars’ home, set it to drive forward without her guidance and climbed into the backseat next to Shmi.

Unfortunately, she must have lost consciousness somewhere along the way and Leia began the arduous process of disinfecting and bandaging up the wounds she could see. She wasn’t a medic by any stretch, but hoped desperately that there would be one close by when she got back.

Leia woke her up for only a brief moment, forcing the woman to drink as much water as she could, much of it spilling down her chin and chest before she fell back to sleep.

Having done all she could, and thoroughly exhausted from their escape, Leia made her way back to the driver’s seat and focused on the long drive back.

—————

The dome of the Lars’ home came into view, and soon the silhouette of multiple people rushing out of the house came with it.

Leia sped up a little before coming to a stop outside the doorway and watched as Owen rushed to the backseat to carry his stepmother into the house.

Cleigg watched, helpless from his chair as Owen pulled her out and followed them into the house.

Taking an extra moment to gather herself, Leia grabbed the supply bag and followed in after them.

“You really did it,” Owen said, placing Shmi’s unconscious form onto the bed.

“I promised I would,” Leia replied, removing her cloak and taking a seat at the foot of the bed. She watched as Beru placed a wet cloth on Shmi’s forehead and began to remove her tattered clothing.

“I’m going to go out and fetch a medic. I already asked him to stand by with his droids. I’ll be back soon,” Owen said without waiting for a response, hurrying out the door.

Leia watched Cleigg, silent at his wife’s side, traumatized by the state of her. She’d been in his shoes before. She’d rocked Han in her arms after he’d been tortured by Vader, feeling helpless and scared. She remembers wishing it had been her instead.

Beru, to her credit, was trying her best at playing nurse.

“I’m worried,” she said quietly. “Her breathing is shallow.”

Leia stood up and made her way to Shmi’s side, gently easing Beru out of the way.

“I’m going to try something,” Leia said, offering a tentative look of hope. “I don’t know if I can do it myself, but I helped someone else learn how. Hopefully I’m as good in practice as I am a teacher.”

Beru looked confused at Leia’s words, which was only fair. Oftentimes, things about the Force didn’t make sense to Leia either.

Exhausted though she was, Leia placed a hand to Shmi’s abdomen, closed her eyes, and focused on her breathing.

Cleigg and Beru stayed quiet, watching her with curiosity and hope.

Eventually, almost imperceptibly, Shmi’s breathing evened out. She looked more relaxed than she had before, though her face remained scarred and her arms bloodied.

“What did you do?” Beru asked, wide-eyed.

“The best I could,” she replied. Breathing heavily herself, Leia took a step away from Shmi’s bed and placed her face in her hands. “If you’ll all forgive me, I think I need a moment.”

Beru nodded and returned to her spot at Shmi’s side, checking for her pulse and watching her breathe easier.

Leia made her way outside to the centre courtyard of the farm, taking a seat on one of the coolers. The heat wasn’t nearly as bad in the shade of the courtyard, and the light breeze hit her face in a gentle way for the harshness of this planet. Leia leaned her head back against the wall, and let herself rest as she stared out into the bright blue sky.

She didn’t know if she’d done enough, or if she was even capable of doing more, but she was thankful to have been around to do it. Leia had no idea if she had done the right thing, didn’t know if it was right of her to interfere.

If she knew anything, she knew she didn’t belong here. This was her brother’s home, not hers. Unfortunately, she shared Luke’s hero-complex; if this was the wrong thing to do, it didn’t feel like it. It felt right. Her father had taught her that helping people was always right, and his wisdom hadn’t let her down for the past sixty years, it wouldn’t start now.

Leia took another deep breath, sensed that Shmi wasn’t in any immediate danger and let her mind relax, enjoying the fresh air and a moment of peace.

Eventually, Owen returned with the medic, she watched them hurry past but did not follow. She needed her rest, and there was little more she could do. It was best to leave their little family some space and time. She let her eyes close and drift for just a moment.

When Leia awoke, the sun was harsher and higher in the sky, catching her off guard. The shade of the courtyard had barely kept her face safe from the sun, and before she could move to a cooler spot, she heard Threepio calling out for Owen.

Dismayed by his unintended lack of sensitivity, she stood up to ask him what he needed when she realized he had brought a pair of guests with him. She chastised herself for not sensing it sooner.

“Miss Leia!” He greeted. “Might I present two most important visitors. I must find Master Owen and inform him of your arrival.”

Without looking, Leia put her hand out to stop him as he had started to head further into the house. “Be quiet in there, Threepio. She’s still resting.” She studied the young man and woman who had trailed in behind him, and they in turn had stopped in front of her.

Threepio stopped in his tracks, turned to Leia and nodded. “I will do my best to be courteous, Miss Leia.” He made his way inside, and she was sure he wouldn’t be able to follow her orders no matter how hard he tried.

“Who is resting?” The young man asked, his partner staying close, just a step behind. He was protective of her, that much was clear.

“Someone who has been through a lot,” Leia replied vaguely.

“I’m Anakin Skywalker,” he said plainly, introducing himself to her without additional pleasantries. Having sensed that fact from the moment he appeared through the doorway, she didn’t allow herself to react.

It was then that Owen appeared. “Skywalker?” He repeated. “I’m Owen Lars.”

Leia watched in silence as they studied each other for just a moment before Owen continued.

“I guess I’m your stepbrother. I had a feeling you might show up someday,” he explained. "A real coincidence that it's right now."

It was clear Anakin was upset, if a little lost. He had a seriousness to him that Leia had seen in her own son at that age, and that was not where the similarities stopped.

“Is my mother here?” He asked, glancing at Leia for a moment before turning back to Owen.

“She is,” Owen replied. “She’s been through something awful, but she’s here.”

“What happened?” Anakin asked, following as Owen began to lead them all into the house.

Leia realized suddenly that Anakin’s compatriot had been staring at her. When she met her gaze, Leia tilted her head in curiosity.

“I’m Padme,” she greeted.

For a moment, Leia found that she had trouble forming the right words. She knew that face. Somehow, she had known that face her entire life--kind smile, sad eyes. “I’m Leia,” she said, mustering all the warmth she had into a smile of her own.

“What a lovely name,” Padme replied.


	3. we're not so different, you and i

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the kudos and comments, I love the feedback! I've got most of this fic's general plot laid out, along with quite a bit of detailed outlines so there's lots of fun stuff to still come. Luke will be showing up one way or another, for anyone hoping to see him, I just have to get all the pieces in place to make sense.
> 
> There's also a few spoilers for Star Wars Bloodline here that I borrowed to flesh out Leia's backstory, be forewarned.

Anakin sat at his mother’s bedside, his hand tightly wrapped around hers. For just a moment, Leia dropped her guard and immediately found herself overwhelmed with the sensation of his pain. Unable to reconcile her connection with the young man in front of her, Leia stood in the doorway watching as Padme moved to Anakin’s side.

Even from a few meters away, Leia could see Anakin’s eyes well with tears.

Padme placed a comforting hand at Anakin’s back, examining Shmi’s unconscious state before turning to Cleigg who was sat on the other side of the bed.

“What happened?” Padme asked gently.

Anakin did not look up from his mother, transfixed in horror by the gash that now adorned the side of her face.

“She was taken a few weeks back,” Cleigg replied. “One early morning she went out, next thing we knew she’d been taken by the Raiders. I tried to pursue them but…” he trailed off, gesturing down at his wheelchair. “We sent out search parties, but she was missing for weeks.”

Padme nodded, rubbing Anakin’s shoulder soothingly. Anger and hurt emanated from him nonetheless, and Leia was becoming increasingly nervous that Anakin was also going to be able to sense her emotions as strongly as she felt his.

“We thought she was dead,” Cleigg continued. “At least, we did, until Owen told me this morning that Leia here had gone out to find her.” He gestured to Leia in the doorway.

Padme turned back to look at Leia, a surprised expression on her face. Whatever her initial estimation of Leia had been, it likely wasn’t that of someone nearly as capable as Cleigg was describing.

“It’s quite a coincidence that the two of you would show up here today,” Owen noted from his spot, sitting on the windowsill. “I mean, after we just saved her this morning.”

Finally, Anakin spoke up.

“I’ve been having these terrible dreams—nightmares, really. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something awful had happened to her,” he explained. His voice was low, and betrayed his attempt to stay calm. “I should have come sooner, when the dreams started.”

“Oh Ani,” Padme started. “You couldn’t have known.”

“I did know!” He said, frustrated. “I knew, but I convinced myself otherwise! She’s my mother, I should have been there!”

Padme took a step back, failing in her attempt to not show her shock at his outburst.

Leia, on the other hand, took a step forward instinctively. She didn’t know how to diffuse Anakin’s tension, but was ready to step in if he escalated.

The move did not go unnoticed by Anakin who turned to Leia. “Who are you anyway?” He asked: a question loaded with suspicion.

Her animosity toward Vader aside, she sympathized with Anakin, she really did. Leia had foreseen the deaths of nearly everyone she had ever loved; haunted by the visions for years. She remembers watching the light drain from Han’s eyes, able to feel the low thrum of the lightsaber in her hands as it pierced him. It’s not even her memory, and yet she wakes up in cold sweats wishing she had done something to prevent it.

It was becoming increasingly clear that her continued presence in the Lars home wasn’t ideal. Anakin’s force-sensitivity, and their familial connection, was a danger to her. How long until he realized there was something between them? How long until someone realized she was the spitting image of her mother?

She had never intended on staying with the Lars’ for this long anyways. No matter how intrigued she was at the thought of getting to know Padme, she couldn’t stay. Maybe she had done what she was meant to. Maybe she was supposed to save Shmi, which would shield Anakin from the pain of losing her, and thus stop his fall to the dark side. She would just have to trust in that now.

“I’m no one,” Leia replied. “I just did what anyone would.”

“That’s not true,” Owen argued, his fondness for Leia becoming quite clear. “You’re an incredible Jedi. There’s no one else in the galaxy who can do what you did.”

Narrowing her eyes, Leia really wished he hadn’t said that. “I’m not a Jedi.”

“You are,” he assured. “I’ve seen the way you use the Force, and a lightsaber. You’re amazing.”

“No, Owen,” she said, teeth gritted. “I’m not a Jedi.”

“But you—“

“You assumed I was a Jedi,” she reiterated, stubbornly. “I already told you, I’m just a traveller who needs to fix up her ship and get the hell off this planet. I’m glad I was able to help, but I think it’s time for me to leave.”

Leia propped up her satchel on her shoulder, and took a step out of the room.

“Thank you all for your hospitality,” she said finitely.

“Wait!” Beru said, following Leia out the door. “At least let me make you some lunch before you leave. You haven’t eaten since yesterday.”

Unable to deny that fact, and not wanting to appear like she was sprinting too fast out the door, Leia nodded.

“Okay,” Leia said. “But I’m going to help you fix up a meal for everyone.”

“It’s quite alright—“

“No,” Leia interrupted before Beru had a chance to argue. “I’m helping.”

Beru acquiesced, leading the way to the kitchen. “You’re very stubborn, you know.”

Leia smiled. “I’ve been told.”

Not really registering their words, Anakin watched the two women leave before turning back to his mother. He was trying to take comfort in her current sense of peace. As she slept, she was oblivious to the horrors she had just faced and he almost wished she would not wake up to spare her that terror.

As he stroked her hand with his thumb, he decided he would not leave her again. Not until he was sure she was safe at least. Perhaps he might find a way to bring her back with him to Coruscant, anything to put his worried heart to ease.

Maybe it was naive, but Anakin knew he could be content with just his mother and Padme—Jedi be damned.

He was grateful that Padme was still at his side. Her mere presence made him feel better, and he was glad when she took a seat beside him and wrapped her arm through his.

Owen had told him what the medic had said. He had left painkillers and bacta infusions to fight infection and told them to make sure she was drinking plenty of water. It was hard to get her to drink however, considering she was still unconscious.

Shmi was still incredibly weak, and had not yet awoken. As more time passed, Anakin was becoming increasingly worried. He sensed that she was mostly out of danger, but couldn’t fight this nagging feeling at the back of his neck.

“Why hasn’t she woken up yet?” Anakin asked, to no one in particular. He just felt frustrated. He didn’t understand medicine, and it bothered him that there was never a definitive answer to any of his questions.

“The medic said she needs to rest to heal, son,” Cleigg responded calmly.

“And where is he?” Anakin pushed. “How long until she’s supposed to wake up? What if she gets worse? How are we supposed to know?”

“I’ll fetch him if we need anything,” Owen promised. “And I already asked him to come by again this evening for a checkup,”

Anakin sighed heavily, sated by Owen’s assurances for now. He was handling this poorly, he knew that, but he felt helpless and there was nothing Anakin hated more than feeling weak and useless. What was the point of being a Jedi if you couldn’t even help those closest to you?

“She’ll be okay, Anakin,” Owen said. “She was in pretty bad shape when she came in, but I’m not worried. Besides, if anything happens, you can just heal her.”

Anakin narrowed his brows and turned to face Owen, confused. “What do you mean?” He asked.

“You can heal her,” he repeated, mimicking the motion that Leia had made with her hand as she helped Shmi a few hours ago. “That Jedi trick, like Leia did.”

“What are you talking about? Jedi can’t just heal sick people.”

Owen swallowed thickly, unsure of how to respond. Anakin was the second person he had ever met who knew how to use the Force; the first was making lunch in his kitchen.

“Are you saying that woman just… fixed her?”

Owen nodded, though he felt like he was almost betraying Leia’s trust by doing so. She hadn’t asked him to keep anything that had happened the past two days a secret, but somehow it still felt like she had a lot of secrets to hide.

“That’s impossible,” Anakin said, looking to Padme. “I researched that when I was younger, I searched through all of the Jedi archives. I wanted to make sure no one I loved ever died, but there wasn’t even a record of any Jedi being able to do anything like that.”

“Well, I don’t know, Ani,” Padme replied. “She said she wasn’t a Jedi.”

For a moment, it crossed Anakin’s mind that this strange young woman might be a Sith—although she didn’t exactly strike him as the type. But he had to know, whatever she was, if she had this ability then he had to know it too.

————————

Having finished up her lunch, and given a bit leftover to take with her, Leia was tidying up the room she had been staying in and laying out her few belongings to take with her on her trip. She figured she might head into town and get a feel for the vendors and decide if it was worth it to fix up the Falcon or to find a way off of Tatooine on some other transport.

Whatever she was going to do, she just needed to get out of this house. Anakin’s force-presence was stifling her in a way she hadn’t experienced since Ben was fourteen years old. A teenage boy going through puberty had been hard enough to parent, but their connection had made things so much worse and she never felt like she could get a moment of peace.

It was killing her how alike her son’s energy was to Anakin’s, and she hated drawing these comparisons. She hated sympathizing with the man who would one day destroy her home, her family; everything she had ever known.

Unfortunately, Anakin’s presence had been so pervasive she hadn’t even noticed him opening the door to the room until he was already inside.

“Hi,” Leia greeted, pretending that his presence hadn’t fazed her in the slightest.

Anakin cleared his throat, and took her greeting as invitation to step further into the room. “I wanted to thank you,” he said. “For helping my mother.”

Still trying to appear nonchalant, she began to undo her messy bun and started knotting her hair into braids around her head. “Like I told Owen, it wasn’t anything. He asked if I could help, so I did.”

“It was dangerous,” he said. “And you didn’t have any obligation to her. Thank you.”

“Sure I did,” Leia argued. “Owen helped me when my ship crashed, and they let me stay here for the night. I had to repay them somehow.”

“Staging a rescue operation is more than repayment,” Anakin said.

Annoyed by his insistence, Leia shook her head. “It’s really nothing. I’m glad your mother’s okay.”

“Well, that’s the thing,” he said, trailing off a little.

Leia accidentally messed up one of her braids, and in frustration, she roughly raked her fingers through the length of her hair to pull out the knots. She wasn’t even looking at Anakin, but realized that him coming in here to thank her was really just pretence for whatever it was he was going to ask her next.

“Owen said you healed her using the force,” Anakin said. “How did you learn how to do that? I don’t want to trouble you even more, but I was hoping you could teach me.”

“Owen was mistaken.” Leia said in a dismissive tone. “It _would_ trouble me, actually. As you can see, I’m leaving. I really don’t have the time to teach you anything.”

“I do see,” he replied, staring at her lightsaber strewn out amongst the other things on the bed. “I see that you’re some kind of Jedi, and I’m a Padawan and I would like you to teach me.”

Leia could not believe Anakin’s gall! She had just saved his mother’s kriffing life, and here he was asking for more? They’d said all of three sentences to each other before he had even stepped into the room.

“Look, I understand that you’re scared for your mother, but she’s going to be fine,” Leia assured, trying to keep her voice steady. “I’m leaving. I’m sorry that I can’t help you any further.”

“If you were sorry, you would stay a little longer and teach me what you know,” he argued, moving in closer. He was significantly taller, and using his size to his advantage, started to inch his way into her personal space.

Of course, this wasn’t the first time Leia had come face to face with this man’s attempts to intimidate her. No one intimated Leia Organa. Instead of stepping back like he’d expected, she stepped closer, looking up at him with her chin raised.

“You’re right,” she said, her voice raised. “I’m not sorry. And I’m certainly not sticking around here to teach your sorry behind anything!”

Anakin it seemed was also not interested in being intimidated by a woman half his size and refused to back down himself. “Why did you save my mother at all? You have knowledge and power that could save lives and you’re just going to walk away?! Do you know what we could do with that ability? What I could do?”

“Yes!” Leia shouted, not remembering the last time she had been so riled up by another human being. “I know damn well what you could do! And you are the last person in the universe I would ever want to help become more powerful!”

“What does that mean?!” He yelled back. “You know nothing about me! I’m the Chosen One! I will bring balance to the Force and I need to start by making sure I can save the people that I love from dying.”

“Ohhhh, _the Chosen One._ I wasn’t aware!” She drawled sarcastically. “Please, Divine Being, turn around so I can humbly kiss your ass.”

Scoffing, and having had enough of Anakin’s nonsense, Leia began to haphazardly toss her things into the bag. She couldn’t believe how a young man who had grown up in the humble squalor of Tatooine had possibly inflated _this_ much of an ego.

She quickly began to make her exit, gruffly brushing past him as she did so. Anakin, not quite willing to give up, reached out and grabbed her forearm to stop her from leaving. The moment they touched, Leia felt a spark in the Force and quickly wrenched her arm away from him.

“Don’t touch me,” she threatened, a finger pointed dangerously at his face.

Anakin still looked quite frustrated, though was clearly as stunned by the connection between them as she had been. Not sure what to make of it, he finally took a step back and allowed her the space to leave the room.

Huffing in anger, Leia stormed out and down the hall. She absolutely could not believe the nerve of that man. Who did he think he was? He was still practically a child, not even a full Jedi Knight yet. What could Padme possibly see in him?

She moved dramatically through the house, toward the courtyard. In her anger, she hadn’t given herself a moment to check if she had left anything behind. She managed to find her clothes being folded by a droid in a side room, thankful that they had been recently cleaned after her crash the day before. She stuffed them into her bag, and made her way off.

On her way to the speederbike, which she decided was now hers since she had stolen it from the raiders fair and square, she spotted C3PO working on some of the farm droids through the field. He waved to her, which gave her a moment’s pause and she waved back.

“Bye, Threepio,” she said, wrapping the strap of her bag snugly on the bike.

“Hold on!” Came another voice.

Having just kicked her leg over the speederbike, Leia looked up at the sound.

“Please,” Padme begged, rushing out of the house toward Leia. “Can I speak to you for just a moment before you leave?”

Sighing, Leia studied Padme for a moment before nodding. “What is it?” She asked.

Pleased that Leia had stopped, Padme moved in close enough that they were eye level with one another. “I just wanted to say sorry,” Padme explained, “for Anakin’s behaviour. He shouldn’t have cornered you like that.”

Leia pursed her lips and sighed, rubbing her temple. “It’s not your fault. You shouldn’t apologize for him.”

“Nonetheless,” Padme continued. “He really is grateful for what you did for his mother. I think he feels guilty, like he should have been there for her. Surely you can understand that.”

If she was honest, of course she understood that. She really had been empathizing with Anakin until he felt entitled to her knowledge and time. She had no tolerance for that, or for him. She also had no tolerance for sending your significant other to clean up your messes.

“Look, I understand,” Leia agreed. “Unfortunately, I really can’t help him. I have to leave.”

“Do you really have to leave right this moment?” Padme challenged, her voice calm and convincing.

A few moments of silence too long and Leia finally answered, “Maybe.”

Padme, to her credit, called Leia’s bluff. “I understand Ani is a little… difficult. But, he’s just scared. Shmi is resting, but she might not recover properly. We don’t know the effects of what happened to her, or if she’ll even wake up at all.”

At that, Leia looked down at her hands. She could sense that Shmi was better off now than she had been when Leia had first found her. But she was no doctor, and really didn’t know the answer to Padme’s fears either.

“I can tell you care what happens to her,” Padme continued, offering a small smile. “I think if you maybe stayed the night, just until she wakes up, we could all rest a little easier.”

Leia sighed, looking up to stare directly into Padme’s eyes. She was aware she’d just been expertly manipulated, and also incredibly annoyed by that fact. She was annoyed by Padme’s astuteness already and felt as though she had just been taken by a move straight out of her own playbook.

“I don’t want her to die,” Leia conceded, throwing her bag back over her shoulder and making her way off the speeder.

Padme looked relieved, and pleased with herself, if Leia was reading that smile correctly.

“Alright fine,” Leia began. “I’ll stay tonight, but saving Shmi took a lot out of me. Healing her took even more. If anything did happen, I’m not sure I’d be of any use.”

Sombrely, Padme nodded. “At least it’ll give Anakin a chance of earning your forgiveness.”

That was ridiculously optimistic of her. He’d been dead to Leia for forty years, and she’d not managed to forgive him in all that time. One night wasn’t going to make the difference.

“Oh, I’m not talking to him,” Leia said off handedly, making her way back into the house.

——————————

The next morning, when Leia awoke, she had almost forgotten where she was. The suns streamed brightly through the bedroom window and she groaned in exhaustion, pulling the pillow over her face. She had forgotten how short the nights were here on Tatooine. How any humanoid would ever decide to settle on a desert planet, she would never understand.

No one had come to get her in the night, which meant that Shmi was probably doing alright, so she allowed herself another few minutes to lie in bed and relax. Once she was done indulging, she would definitely get up and prepare for the day—no matter how sore she was feeling.

It had been years since she’d been half this physical, if she were being honest. Being the leader of the Resistance had very few perks, but one of those was having the luxury of sitting behind a desk and making plans instead of having to enact them in person. Not to mention the mental toll of manipulating the Force the way she had, Leia probably could have slept for another ten hours at least.

Realizing she didn’t have that luxury, Leia removed herself from bed and made her way to freshen up. She decided, in not squandering this new youthful body she now had, she would spend a few minutes training before the suns rotated any higher into the sky.

She tied her braids up to form a tight crown along her temple, and made her way out of the house into the morning heat.

Leia had assumed most everyone was still asleep, and was dismayed to find she had company already. Just as she stepped out of the front door, she spotted Anakin leaning against the side of the domed entrance way, digging a tool into Threepio’s torso.

Not being one to hide her displeasure, Leia rolled her eyes and silently made her way across the sand to her speederbike and picked up the Tusken staff that was hanging along the side of it. She decided she would attempt to simply ignore Anakin’s presence, and headed over to a scrap heap of machine parts she assumed must have been dumped from the farm.

Leia then climbed on top of a large hunk of metal and began to practice staff swinging as she hopped along the scrap heap, being sure never to touch the ground. She had watched Rey do similar warm ups for the better part of the past year, but was herself quite rusty since her days training with Luke long ago.

Deciding she was prepared, Leia flipped herself in the air and landed into the sand onto both feet, slipping only a little on the landing. Feeling quite pleased with herself, she continued to jump from piece to piece, gaining more confidence in her own dexterity as she went along. The cockiness must have gotten to her as she misjudged the sturdiness of a large piece of metal and went tumbling as she landed with a grunt, crashing into another pile of scrap.

As she was recovering from the fall, she looked up to see that Anakin had already made his way over to her. Grudgingly, she had really hoped he hadn’t seen that, but knew he had been watching her from his spot back at the house.

“You claim not to be a Jedi, but you certainly move like one,” he noted, reaching a hand out to help lift her up.

Leia being Leia, she knocked his hand away and stubbornly pushed herself back up onto her own two feet, dusting off her trousers before wandering over to pick up the staff she had tossed to the ground in her fall.

Anakin shrugged at her rejection, placing his hand into his pocket instead. “This isn’t a particularly safe spot to work out,” he said, watching her.

Leia grimaced at his refusal to take a hint. “It’s fine,” she replied shortly.

“Would you like to spar instead?” he asked.

Pausing, Leia looked at him for a moment, weighing that option in her head. It really probably wasn’t smart of her to spend more time with her birth father than she needed to, but the idea of getting a good hit in… it sparked a deep-seated vengeance within her. In the years that she’d been at war with Vader, she’d never gotten a chance to face him on equal footing. And while she really was trying to separate the man from the boy, maybe she wasn’t quite as emotionally evolved as she pretended to be.

Taking her silence as a ‘yes’, Anakin began digging through the scrap heap for a staff similar to her own. He settled on a pipe of some sort, about a half meter long, and made his way out into the open sand to ensure there were no barriers or obstacles around them.

Leia took an extra moment to watch him from across the way before deciding she would take him up on his offer.

Anticipating Leia’s aggression, Anakin immediately took a defensive stance. He hunkered down, pipe angled in front of him as Leia leapt forward, her hand grasping the middle of her staff and swinging forward.

They exchanged parries for a while, Leia trying her best to rein in her increasing hostility toward the young man. If she were being honest, Anakin had always been a sore spot for her. It was barely a decade ago that she was publicly exposed as being Vader’s daughter. The news had destroyed her political career and eroded the decades of trust she had been building across the galaxy. Throughout her entire life, the man had continued to cause her grief. It was just her damn luck that she couldn’t be free of him in death either.

Luke had even mentioned to her off-handedly that Anakin had visited him through the Force a few times in the past, to Leia’s own displeasure. She had told her brother that it was nice he had a parental figure to connect with, but if Vader dared to show up when she was around that she wouldn’t hesitate to kill him twice. He never did. And Luke never brought it up again after that either, knowing better than to get at his sister’s pressure points.

Unpracticed, Leia was beginning to tire quicker than she would have liked and made a desperate swipe at Anakin’s legs which he matched by grabbing either end of his pipe, hooking her staff, and sending her flying backward. She landed on her backside, groaning at the impact. This was not going the way she had hoped.

Leia pushed herself up into a sitting position, looking up at Anakin from the sand. He was smirking at her disgruntled expression, which bothered Leia more than she was anticipating. Annoyed, she pushed her hand out suddenly, gathering the strength she had in the Force and he went flying backward, also landing on his back.

Quicker and lighter on his feet, he jumped up off the ground and stormed back to her, his hair and face covered in sand. Seeing his frustrated expression and disheveled appearance, she laughed.

“That’s not fair,” Anakin grumbled, staring down at her.

She made no move to get up, and simply continued to laugh, the tension within her having dissipated with her outburst.

Unable to stay angry while she was laughing, Anakin just huffed, not really sure where to go from here. He plopped down in front of her, crossing his legs and tossing his metal pipe to the side.

With her legs splayed out in front of her, Leia leaned back on her arms, studying Anakin as he picked at the sand in front of him.

“That droid you were fixing earlier,” she started, “where did your mother get him from? Owen told me he was hers.”

“I built him when I was a boy,” Anakin replied. “Wanted him to help my mom out around the house.”

Leia was surprised by this answer, and was becoming increasingly curious how her real father had come to be in possession of the droid. She wondered if Bail and Anakin might be friends. She was also surprised that the moody young man she saw before her had managed to create a droid as friendly and boisterous as C3PO.

“Why?” He asked, just a little bit suspicious. He didn’t know Leia very well, but she certainly didn’t seem like one for casual conversation.

“No reason,” she responded, unconvincingly. Sensing his suspicion, she deflected. “I’m impressed you managed to create an entire droid, with that personality, when you were a child.”

Anakin shrugged, caught a little off-guard at receiving a compliment from the strange, hostile woman. “I’ve always been good with machines. They just… speak to me.”

Leia hummed in response, learning something new about him. She turned her attention away from Anakin then, ponderous, looking off into the desert horizon.

“They told me your ship crashed,” he said, biting the inside of his lip as though he really didn’t want to say the words that came out of his mouth next. “I can help you fix it.”

Leia turned back to him, eyes narrowed.

“It’s the least I can do after…” he trailed off, not wanting to bring up the topic of their argument yesterday and stoke any embers after this ceasefire between the two of them.

“Are you apologizing?” Leia asked, deliberately prodding at him.

Anakin pursed his lips into a semi-pout. “I’m thanking you. For helping my mother,” he clarified. Clearly, he was as good at admitting his own wrongdoing as Leia was herself.

“Did Padme tell you to say sorry?” She pushed on.

He grit his teeth. “If you don’t want my help then—“

“I graciously accept your apology, _Ani.”_

Realizing that she was trying to rile him up, he decided not to fall into her trap, and he narrowed his eyes back at her. He reminded her so much of Ben in that moment, right around the eyes, that Leia couldn’t stand looking at him any longer and rushed back up onto her feet to go back inside. “Let’s go buy some parts, then.”

—————————

Having quickly gotten ready for their trip into town, Leia made her way to the room Anakin had been staying in. She was about to enter when she heard his voice, along with Padme’s, having a rather loud discussion. Guided by curiosity, Leia opted to dismiss her manners, and lingered just outside the door.

“She’s annoying, Padme,” Anakin complained, drying his hair with a towel. It bothered him immensely that he had been covered in so much sand. “She has something against me, and I don’t know what it is but she’s very sarcastic and I don’t have the patience for it.”

Leia smirked. She got under his skin the same way she had gotten under Vader’s. They were two very different people at this moment, sure, but she was pleased to still have that effect on him.

Padme was displaying more patience with him than Leia had the capacity to, however, allowing him to continue on.

“I’m not sure I even want to help her,” he said, strapping up his utility belt. “If she keeps riling me up, I just might leave her out there in the desert.”

“Ani!” Padme chastised. “Maybe we should give her a chance. The Lars’ seem to like her well enough, and she really had no reason to help them out the way she did.”

“I’m grateful, I am,” he assured. “But there’s something about her…”

“Like what?” Padme asked, handing him his cloak.

“Like… she’s hiding something!” he explained. “I don’t know what it is, I just have a funny feeling about her.”

Padme, to her credit, was excellent at tempering Anakin. “You don’t think she’s dangerous, do you?”

“No. No, I don’t think she’s dangerous,” he replied, gaining more confidence in his answer as he spoke. “I would sense if she was.”

“Well, you can pay back your debt to her, and everything will be square between you two,” Padme assured. “I’m safe here. I’ll watch over your mother until you get back. Everything will be alright.”

For a moment, Leia imagined what her life might have been like had she been raised by the pair. She couldn’t deny her clashes with Anakin would have been plenty. She was self-aware enough to remember just how hot-headed she was when she was younger. She could imagine the fights she would have had with Anakin, Padme constantly playing peacemaker between the two of them, and Luke behaving like an oblivious angel to impress her. It was almost… nice.

Lost in her own thoughts, Leia hadn’t heard Anakin’s footsteps encroaching and quickly went to step back when he stepped out of the room. She wasn’t quick enough, and the two nearly collided.

“Were you waiting out here?” He asked accusingly, head tilted down at her.

“No,” she replied, offended.

“Yes, you were.”

“I was just coming to get you,” she lied, jutting her chin up at him, pretending to be absolutely indignant at the accusation. “You’re hardly interesting enough for me to spy on.”

Anakin grumbled at her, knowing it was a lie, before turning on the spot and heading off down the hall.

Before following after him, Leia looked into the room to spot Padme who looked completely exasperated at the scene she had just watched play out in front of her. She smiled at her mother, who responded with a pleading expression of mercy.

Leia trailed after Anakin who had already gotten into the driver’s side of Owen’s speeder. She climbed in next to him, wrapping her shawl over her head as they sped off.

Deciding she would allow him a bit of reprieve, Leia sat back silently, polishing her blaster pistol with the hem of her shawl.

He tossed her a small pouch with a few data chips inside. It landed in her lap. “Padme gave us some credits to buy the parts, and Owen already told me what he thinks we’ll need for the repair.”

“I’ll be sure to thank her when we get back,” Leia said, tucking the credits away for safekeeping. “Are senators wealthy?”

Anakin thought on it for a moment before replying. “I don’t know,” he answered. “Her family is well off, I suppose.”

Leia looked at him curiously. She hadn’t thought about Padme’s family. Never thought that she might have more blood relatives somewhere out there in the galaxy.

“Jedi aren’t supposed to have possessions,” he explained.

“Do her parents approve of you?” Leia asked curiously, though it was probably much too personal of a question.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Anakin responded, his fingers wringing around the controls of the speeder.

“Do they like the idea of their daughter being with a Jedi?”

Anakin shook his head. “Padme and I are not in a relationship.”

“Oh, sure,” Leia said, unconvinced.

“Romantic relationships are forbidden in the Jedi Order. For someone with the skills of a Jedi, you don’t seem to know much about us.”

She grimaced at that, not having known about that little rule. “Well, how does one go about becoming a Jedi? Maybe I’m interested.”

Anakin laughed at the idea. “You’re much too old. Children are usually discovered when they’re very young, and they are brought to Coruscant to begin learning the basics of the Force, free of prior attachments.”

“Wait,” she interrupted, faced with complete disbelief. “So the Jedi steal children away from their families and then forbid them from love? That certainly doesn’t sound like the type of group I would want to be a part of.”

“When someone becomes a Jedi, they choose to make a commitment and follow our ways,” Anakin said, like he had rehearsed the line before.

“And how old were you when you were taken away by them?” She asked, determined to prove her point.

“I was nine when Master Obi-Wan took me as a padawan.”

Leia scoffed. “And you really think you were mature enough—at nine years old—to make that kind of commitment?”

It was clear she was broaching a touchy subject with him. “The Jedi rescued me. I was a slave, and they freed me. I was lucky to even be accepted! I was older than all the other padawan learners.”

“How kind of them to take the kid they wanted and leave his poor mother behind to fend for herself,” Leia drawled. She really hadn’t known much about the way of the Jedi during age of the Galactic Republic, but it was becoming increasingly clear that she was glad she hadn’t been born then. If the Jedi were supposed to be the good guys, she hated the idea that she might have been stolen away from her parents and forbidden from loving them.

“Honestly,” Anakin conceded. “I don’t really like it either. I think love is important.”

Leia looked surprised.

“I do. I think love, and attachments, can help a Jedi become more focused, more driven to improve. Emotions aren’t something to be afraid of, they should be used.”

On that Leia had to agree. “Then why do you still choose to be a Jedi?”

“I told you, I made a commitment,” he said. “The Jedi saved me, and I’m meant to bring balance to the Force. I couldn’t leave even if I wanted to. I’m going to be the most powerful Jedi the galaxy has ever known.”

She shook her head at that, annoyed by his youthful ambition. Power wasn’t something to strive for, it was a responsibility that was thrust upon you when needed. She had known too many young people like him, who desired glory and heroism but lacked the leadership to handle it. If she’d learned anything in her life of politics and war, there was a fine line between illustriousness and notoriety.

Interrupting their conversation, Anakin slowed their speeder and reached Mos Eisley. It was clear he knew his way around, and found a spot to park, securing the speeder and stepping out. He waited for Leia to follow suit, and she began to walk off with him.

He made his way through the markets as though he knew a map of the place, ducking past the main vendors and into a cluttered alleyway of booths and pop-up stands. Leia kept her hood up, knowing her fair skin and soft appearance would not help Anakin’s bartering tactics. He had managed to secure a few good items quickly, and she stored them away in her pack, the pouch of credits getting steadily lighter as the day went by.

Whenever Han had engaged in his business when she was around, all eyes would be on her, which worked well enough for the sneaky ways that he committed theft and cleared out of a room. Anakin however was far less smooth, and she didn’t want to interfere, keeping mostly to herself.

She noted that he spoke the language of multiple species here, and so could only gather general ideas about what they were discussing.

“No, look,” he argued in Basic. “This pad has a scratch on it, it’s not worth half that much. I’ll give you what I have and you’ll be lucky you even got anything for it.”

The vendor jabbered on at him in Huttese, shooing Anakin away with his hand.

“Why don’t we make some sort of deal? I’ll add five more, nothing else.”

Laughing, the vendor turned away from Anakin, ignoring him to track down another customer instead.

“What’s wrong?” Leia asked, pulling out the pouch of credits Anakin had given to her before.

He quickly put his hand out to cover hers and the pouch, then guided her to put it back into her satchel. “We need this part, but we don’t have nearly enough to cover it.”

Leia grimaced, looking over at the vendor trying to sell a motivator to a group of passer-bys. “Let’s find someone else then,” she suggested.

“No,” he said with a frown. “This is the only place that’s selling it this low already. I don’t know if we’ll be able to get it with the money we have.” Huffing, he turned back around to go have another word with the vendor.

Taking another quick look around, Leia scoped out the other tables. She didn’t spot the same part anywhere, but was rather distracted by the hustle and bustle of the marketplace around her. She watched Anakin continue to argue, then eased her way around the corner of the booth and ducked beneath a tarp.

Deciding she was well out of view, she reached her hand out, summoned the part Anakin had pointed at earlier, and pocketed it.

Stepping out of the shadows, she wandered over to another booth, pretending to be looking over a set of jewelry. After a few moments had passed, she raised her hand and called Anakin over to her. “Hey, Anakin!” she called out. “What about this?”

He looked over to her, and she winked at him. He looked confused for a moment, then realized what she had done and made his way to her. Once he reached her position, they both turned quickly and began to hurry down through the streets.

They had only gotten about a dozen yards away when she heard the vendor call out for them in Huttese, and they sped up down the street. Leia turned her head back, spotting three large men pursuing them, grabbed Anakin’s arm and they both sped up into a run ducking behind multiple buildings until they were finally in the clear.

“My master would tell me that theft is not the way of the Jedi,” Anakin said as they began to make their way back to the speeder. “A Jedi needs to know how to negotiate.”

Leia shrugged. “It’s a good thing I’m not a Jedi then.”

“And yet I have a feeling you’re very good at negotiating.”

“I _do_ find that I’m very good at getting what I want,” Leia agreed.

Anakin chuckled at that, and Leia found that she didn’t hate the sound as much.

They made their way back to the speeder, and she carefully loaded her now heavy bag into the trunk compartment as they began to head out of city and back to the Lars homestead.

“You didn’t strike me as the petty theft type,” Anakin commented.

Leia laughed. He really had no idea of the life she’d led with her smuggler of a husband.

“I do try not to make it a habit,” she responded. “Thankfully, this town is full of noble types such as hard-working slave owners and opportunistic vultures. It won’t weigh too heavily on my conscience, I’m sure.”

Anakin agreed with her on that one; he harboured only hatred for the residents of this planet. Tatooine was so far out of the way for Republic rule, it was a breeding ground for the worst in the galaxy to do as they pleased without consequence. He had always hated it here.

“I grew up in a city just like this one,” he said. “On the other side of the wastes. They’re all the same.”

Leia sighed, having forgotten for a moment that he had once been a slave. “That must have been difficult,” she sympathized.

He shook his head. “I didn’t really know any better.”

She studied his face from her seat in the passenger side, surprised by his answer. She settled for watching him stoically stare out at the desert before them.

“I had my mom,” Anakin continued. “She did everything she could to make sure I was safe. And loved. Sometimes I think I was happier here, with her.”

Leia swallowed thickly. Influenced by the strong emanation of his emotions, Leia felt overcome with the longing for her own family. It was hitting her now, all of a sudden, that she was here all alone. Sure, Anakin was going to help her fix her ship and she’d be free of this rotten planet, but she had nowhere to go. If she ran to Alderaan, her real parents would have no idea who she was. Her birth parents could never even be allowed to learn about her existence. She didn’t have Han or Luke or Chewie, and not even the comfort of knowing that Ben was somewhere out there in the galaxy.

“Are you alright?” Anakin asked, breaking her out of her misery.

She hadn’t noticed a tear had begun to well, and she quickly wiped it away, cursing her moment of vulnerability.

“I’m fine,” she responded. “I understand what you mean.”

“My mother—she’ll be alright, won’t she?” Anakin asked, sounding younger than Leia had ever heard him before.

“Yeah,” she replied, nodding. “I think so.”


	4. i've given up trying to argue with her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Started a new full-time job, so I've been lagging a bit on this story, but I still have plans for the rest of the fic so be sure to keep on watching. Thanks for the amazing feedback!

“Don’t use that!” Anakin shouted over the thrum of the machinery, running over to Leia and pulling the laser welder out of her hands. “It’ll fry the circuitry and we’ll have to replace half this engine!”

Leia grumbled and grabbed the welder back from him forcefully. “You’re the one who told me to fuse the hatch back together!”

“You need to use a mech torch to heat it up slowly,” Anakin said, like it was somehow obvious, wandering over to the tool box to grab one and start fixing it himself.

“And how was I supposed to know that?!” She exclaimed, taking a step back and crossing her arms across her chest.

“I thought this was your ship!” He accused.

“Technically, this is my husband’s ship.”

Anakin paused and then looked up at her. “You never said you were married.”

Indignant, Leia shrugged her shoulder. “I’m not anymore,” she replied. Not wanting to be around Anakin’s company any longer, she made her way inside the Falcon to search for Owen.

In the cockpit, Leia found Owen hunched over a large set of wires, rerouting and fixing them with his bare hands.

“Is there anything I can help with?” She asked, squatting down beside him.

He looked up at her for a moment and smiled. “Fighting with Anakin again?”

She looked at him quizzically.

“I heard you two yesterday too,” he informed her with a shrug.

Leia looked bothered by this information. “I just don’t like him very much.”

Not wanting to get on his stepbrother’s bad side, Owen decided to stay out of it. “Can you solder these together?” He asked, handing her an assortment of wires and circuitry and she nodded, carefully soldering the ends of the wires to the small boards he had given her.

“I was fixing something in the floor back there,” Owen said, tossing his thumb over his shoulder to point toward the main area of the ship. “I stumbled across some boxes. Is that why you crashed?”

Leia looked at him confused. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“I mean… the box of…” he dropped his voice, “ _spices_.”

“What?” She said, taken aback. “No! I wasn’t high!”

“Sorry,” he said quickly. “Why were you transporting them then?”

Leia shook her head. “I wasn’t,” she sighed. “Technically, someone else was using this ship for a while. Not me.”

“You gave it to a spice runner?” He asked.

“No,” she replied. “My husband was a smuggler, though. Might be why it’s there, but I don’t think he ever ran spices…”

“Was?”

She nodded, not saying anything.

“I’m sorry,” he said, returning to his work on the console. “I’m almost done anyway.”

She decided to stay with him while he worked, helping him hold things and lend an extra hand when he needed. Leia had a sneaking suspicion he was just asking so she didn’t feel left out, but appreciated it all the same.

After an hour or so, Owen had managed to fix most of the damage to the console and began to make his way back to the main bay of the ship to hammer out a few dents. They were nearly done when Anakin called them to come outside.

“I’m done with the engine,” Anakin said, cleaning his hands with a towel cloth.

“Great,” Owen said. “Main controls are looking green. We could probably get it in the air, but it won’t be ready for interstellar travel for a few days.”

Leia sighed, that was disappointing news. “At least if it’s flying, we could bring it closer to the farm. Don’t want to leave it out here for the scavengers to find.”

“I said we could get it to fly,” Owen reiterated. “Not land.”

“It the landing pads here,” Anakin explained, pointing at the broken gears that the entire ship was leaning on. “If we were in a shipyard, they’d be easy to replace, but there’s no way to safely lift the ship to do it.”

Leia grimaced. “How long would it take to replace them?”

“Ideally, about fifteen minutes each,” he answered. “We’ll need to find a shipyard with a proper docking station.”

“Can you do it quicker than that?” She asked, ignoring his suggestion.

“What?” He asked, confused.

“If I lift the Falcon, could you do it quicker? You each fix one gear?”

“How would you lift it?” Owen asked.

“You’re not serious,” Anakin said, having caught on to what she was suggesting.

“Get everything ready and I’ll lift it,” she said, taking a step back and pulling off her gloves.

“I’ll lift it,” Anakin argued. “In case you lose your concentration and kill us both.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, I would never kill Owen,” Leia said with a smile, leaving him to grimace at the implication. “Besides, I don’t know how to fix the gear. I need you to do it.”

Owen, having learned it was best to just trust her in the short time they’d met, ran over to grab his tool box and the replacement parts. He fused them together, ready to slice off the old gears and screw in the new ones.

Anakin continued to stare at her for a moment, trying to suss out how much he could really trust the woman. He really didn’t believe she was capable of whatever she was claiming. Who did she think she was? Master Yoda?

Leia thought he was just trying to be frustrating. It was hardly like she was lifting the entire ship. She would just be balancing it the other way so they could fix the landing pads. Trying to clear her mind, she shook her annoyance away and closed her eyes.

Getting comfortable, she gently raised her arm out in front of her, focused energy around the front of the ship and slowly lifted it.

“Who are you...?” Anakin started, looking back at Leia who was too deep in concentration to notice him. Quickly, he rushed over to pull off the landing gear and start assembling the new one in its place. As he clipped it in, and spread some sealant on the cover, he noticed it was taking Owen a little longer to do the same.

Anakin rushed through his task in order to go help Owen as quick as possible. The ship was creaking a little more than before and he knew Leia was likely starting to tire. Together, he and Owen finished patching it up, placing the sealant the same way he had on the other one and quickly took a few steps away.

“We’re good,” Anakin told her.

Leia slowly let the Falcon fall forward again, though it didn’t have to go too far, settling sturdily on its new landing pads.

“That was great!” Owen said, rushing over to her. “If you stayed to work on the farm, we could sell off all our droids. We wouldn’t need them anymore.”

Leia chuckled. “I don’t think I’d be a very good farmhand,” she said, starting to pack up all the tools back into their respective boxes.

“How is it,” Anakin interrupted, “that you’ve never been discovered by the Jedi Order?”

Bending down to toss things into the case, she didn’t bother to respond.

“The Jedi send scouts around the galaxy finding people with exceptional skill in the Force. It takes years to do what you’ve done. And you’ve just been out there all this time, doing all this without any training?”

“I didn’t say I never had any training,” she replied nonchalantly, finished packing the things away and carrying them inside.

“Who trained you then? A Jedi Master?” He pushed, following her into Falcon.

“No one in your Order,” she answered, deliberately being quite vague. Lying always worked best if you let the other person fill in the blanks for themselves.

“But there are no Jedi who aren’t in the Order.”

“You’re saying there are no Jedi who have ever defected?” She asked, eyebrow raised. They all made their way into the cockpit, Leia climbing into the pilot’s seat.

“No,” he said. “Any Jedi who leave aren’t allowed to continue practicing our ways.”

“Oh?” She replied, not humouring Anakin’s naïveté. “And people just don’t do things because they’re forbidden? How nice of them.”

Anakin looked a little torn about her words. He made his way into the co-pilot seat, Owen taking his own seat right behind them. He began to power up the ship, setting a few checks for atmospheric flight.

“You realize,” Anakin said, “that I should be telling my master about you.”

Leia pursed her lips, spooling up the engine. “I’d really rather you didn’t.”

Anakin didn’t respond. Honestly, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do. “I am sorry, you know. For yesterday, I was angry and upset and I shouldn’t have been.”

Leia looked at him for a moment, taken back by his sincerity. How much Vader was in this young man? What changed him so? “You’re human. We all get angry — especially when the people we love are suffering.”

“That’s what Padme said. But, I’m a Jedi. I’m supposed to be better than that.”

Leia sighed, she was really starting to dislike these Jedi and their ridiculous notions on feelings.

“I hope you’re better at flying this ship than fixing it,” Anakin said, just as they began to take off.

Immediately, Leia narrowed her eyes, annoyed. But then, she caught a glimpse of the smirk on his face and realized that he was teasing her.

“I hope so too,” she said, letting go of the controls and shrugging. The Falcon suddenly dipped downwards, dropping them dozen of metres in altitude.

Anakin immediately reached out and grabbed the lever, righting the ship. “Now I know how Obi-Wan feels,” he grumbled, keeping them steady.

Leia smirked, brushing his hand away to take control again.

“If you could please not do that again,” Owen asked politely, both hands still clutched tightly to the armrest of his seat.

“Sorry,” she said quickly, almost having forgotten he was there. A few moments of silence passed before she decided to press on. “Obi-Wan is your Jedi master?” she asked Anakin, pretending to be oblivious.

“Yes,” Anakin replied. “You would like him. He likes to give me about as much grief as you do.”

“Oh, I’m sure that’s not true,” Leia said, knowingly. To Leia, giving grief to reckless young men was an art form.

“If you’re not a Jedi,” Anakin started. “What is it that you do?”

“Not much,” Leia said vaguely. “Space, adventure, politics… I go where I’m needed.”

“I should have realized you were a politician,” he said, and she could hear the apprehension in his voice.

“You don’t like politicians?” She questioned, finding his choice of companionship odd if that were the case.

“Not usually,” he replied. “I can count the number of politicians I trust on one hand.”

“I think you trust too many, then,” Leia laughed. Her experience in the New Republic was not one she could look upon fondly.

“It’s just Padme, really,” he expanded. “She only wants to do what’s best for everyone. And Chancellor Palpatine too, I suppose. No matter how much resistance he faces, he always finds a way.”

Leia swallowed thickly at that name. She looked away from the desert below to take a look at Anakin’s face, who hadn’t noticed her reaction. “Chancellor Palpatine?”

“Sometimes I think he’s the only one who truly believes in me,” Anakin admitted.

“Just because someone is kind to you, doesn’t mean they have your best interests at heart,” Leia said quietly, unable to help herself.

“And how would you know?” He asked, bothered that this young woman he barely knew would offer her unsanctioned advice. “What would you know about the Chancellor?”

“Nothing,” Leia sighed, shaking her head. She knew this was not a battle she could win—she’d already lost it before. She couldn’t believe the strife that man had cost her. Perhaps, she wondered, looking at Anakin’s boyish face, she had been unfair to him. Maybe Darth Vader was just a monster created by Palpatine, the same as Kylo Ren. If Leia could never bring herself to hate Ben for his crimes, how could she do the same to Anakin?

The trip back to the farm was a lot quicker in the Falcon than it had been in the speeder. Soon, they would arrive and she decided it would be best not to mention Palpatine recklessly again. A younger Leia might have thrown caution to the wind, but if she wanted to draw Anakin out of Palpatine’s path, she would have to play it smarter than that.

Leia lowered the ship as Anakin prepared for landing. As they touched down, Anakin’s head snapped up in surprise. She knew he had felt it, too. Shmi was awake.

He quickly undid the buckle on his chair, rushing out of the ship into the house. Owen must have caught on, following on his tail.

Wanting to follow, but not wanting to appear too emotionally invested in this group of strangers, Leia slowly began to power down the ship and shut off its engines. Knowing it wasn’t really her place to intrude on the moment, she decided to start cleaning up around the Falcon. Things were strewn all over the place, and for now this ship was going to have to be her home again.

When she decided she had stalled long enough, and strangled by her own impatience and curiosity, Leia finally began to head into the farmhouse. She wandered through and spotted Beru in the kitchen again, preparing some broth.

“Do you need any help with that?” Leia asked, hanging back in the doorway.

She shook her head. “Please don’t be offended,” Beru said tentatively, “But you were terrible at preparing lunch yesterday.”

Leia smiled in response, well aware of her shortcomings. “This is going to sound horribly uppity of me, but… I’ve never really done much housework.”

“I could tell,” Beru replied sheepishly.

“Is there anything that I can do?” Leia asked, altering her offer.

“Could you bring this to Shmi?” she asked, pouring some of the broth into a bowl and offering it to Leia.

“Of course,” Leia said, taking it with both hands and heading off down the hall. She could hear the voices already before she opened the door and stepped inside. She looked around, before settling her eyes on Shmi who was sitting just a bit upright in bed.

“Hi,” she said, awkwardly. “Beru made you something to eat.”

Leia went to place the bowl on the stand beside the bed. Before she could stand back upright, Shmi slowly reached a hand out and took a hold of Leia’s arm.

“Thank you,” Shmi said, her voice low and course. On the other end of the bed, Anakin and Cleigg sat at her side.

Leia looked directly into her eyes and nodded, swallowing thickly.

“I’ve been told you are my saviour,” Shmi continued. She had an accent that Leia hadn’t picked up on before, it was so gentle.

“Are you feeling alright?” Leia asked, shrugging off Shmi’s gratitude. The hero complex wasn’t for her.

“I am tired,” Shmi responded, turning away from Leia and looking toward her son. “But I think I will be alright. Especially with my Ani here.”

Shmi cupped Anakin’s cheek, and Leia realized, from the puffiness of his eyes, he must have been crying at some point. At that, Leia truly felt like she was intruding and decided it was best for her to leave them their privacy. She smiled at Shmi before leaving the room.

Out in the hall, she ran into Padme who was beaming.

“I see your ship has been fixed,” Padme said, as they began to walk down the hall back to the kitchen.

“Not quite space-ready yet,” Leia corrected. “But I’ll be out of everyone’s hair soon. I’m glad Anakin’s mother is awake.”

“Me too,” Padme agreed. “To be honest, I feared the worst. I’m ecstatic that I was wrong. Ani would have been devastated. I can only imagine how horrible it would be to lose your mother.”

“It’s not something you ever really get over,” Leia replied as they reached the kitchen. Beru had set out some bowls for the table, and Leia took a seat. Their ship repair must have taken longer than she thought, and she found herself famished.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Padme said, backtracking.

“Don’t be,” Leia said, assuring Padme that she hadn’t been insensitive. “It was a long time ago.”

“It’s so strange,” Padme said, taking a seat adjacent to Leia’s and peering at her curiously. “I feel like we’ve met before.”

Leia almost choked on her soup. “No, I think I would remember that.”

“I can’t place it, but you do seem very familiar,” Padme pressed.

Not sure how to deflect, Leia just continued to eat in silence, pretending as though she weren’t very bothered by Padme’s sudden curiosity.

“Cleigg told me you were from Alderaan. Is that true?” She continued.

“Yes,” Leia replied shortly, wondering what else Padme had asked about her.

“I visit often,” Padme explained. Leia wondered if she was being tested. “Queen Breha and Viceroy Organa are close friends of mine actually.”

“That’s… impressive company,” she replied carefully, trying not to give away her emotions. It was an odd sensation, unexpectedly unlocking a key to her own past. Did Padme ask her friends to raise her daughter? Why not Luke? She had so many questions to which Padme did not yet have the answer.

“Have you ever been to Aldera? It’s beautiful.”

“I grew up there,” Leia replied, trying to keep her story as close to the truth as possible. She was having so much trouble reading Padme. She couldn’t figure out what she was trying to do, so it would be best to keep it close to the wire and avoid a slip-up.

“If your ship can’t be fixed, Anakin and I would be happy to bring you home,” Padme said.

Maybe she was just trying to be helpful, Leia decided. “Thank you, but Alderaan isn’t really my home anymore,” she answered.

“Where is?”

“That ship parked outside,” she said. She honestly didn’t know where she was going to go once the Falcon was fixed. It would have to be home until she figured things out. She had no guarantee she would ever be able to return to her own time, so maybe the drifter life would be hers from here on out. Or maybe, she would be more proactive and sneak her way into the senate and put a lightsaber through Sheev Palpatine’s cold heart. Whatever she decided, she was worried that if she visited Alderaan she would never again want to leave.

It was at that moment, just as Padme was opening her mouth to ask another question, that Threepio walked in urgently, R2-D2 wheeling in after him. “I have a message for Master Ani from Master Obi-Wan Kenobi,” he informed.

“He’s down the hall, Threepio,” Padme said, getting up to follow the droids.

Leia watched as they entered Shmi’s room, and came back out with Anakin in tow. They immediately left the house, and Leia decided not let her curiosity get the better of her. She continued to finish off her meal, enjoying the moment’s rest.

After nearly fifteen minutes, Anakin returned to the house walking past Leia into his mother’s room. Curiosity finally peaking, Leia wandered in after him, lingering in the doorway.

“I’m sorry, mom,” he said, already halfway through his sentence. “I’ll come back as soon as I can.”

“Oh Ani,” Shmi replied. “I’ll be alright. He needs you.”

Anakin nodded. “You need me.”

“I know you are doing important things in the galaxy, Ani,” she assured. “You are meant for greater purpose than watching me sleep.”

“I wouldn’t go if I didn’t think Obi-Wan was in real danger,” he promised, squeezing her hand.

“Go, Ani, save him.”

He nodded again, and pressed a kiss to Shmi’s forehead.

As Anakin stood up to leave, he finally noticed Leia in the doorway.

“Leaving already?” she quipped.

“Yes,” he replied. “I’m sorry I won’t be able to finish fixing your ship.”

Leia shrugged. “You have to do what you have to do.”

“Will you be here for a while?” He asked.

“Can’t go anywhere until the Falcon’s patched up,” she answered.

“Will you watch her for me then? Make sure everything is alright?”

“I don’t need a watcher, Anakin,” Shmi interrupted, shifting herself upright in bed as if to prove her point.

“Why don’t you make it up to me by bringing me along to wherever it is you’re going?” Leia said, not even sure why she had made the offer. The Falcon was here, and she needed it to be fixed. But, she also figured that the reason she was here had to be connected to her birth parents somehow — she couldn’t just let them out of her sight either.

“Why would you want to come along?”

“Curiosity?” Leia offered. “Adventure?”

“It could be a dangerous trap that we’re walking into,” Anakin reasoned. “This is more than just adventure.”

“And you’re going to bring Padme into it?” Leia questioned.

“I’m still not sure I can trust you,” he said honestly.

“If I protect her, I bet there’s a few parties willing to pay,” she said, trying her best hand at Han’s signature smirk.

“You want money?” He asked in disbelief.

“Who doesn’t?” She responded. “You said her family was well off. I wouldn’t mind a handsome reward for protecting an important senatorial figure. Get my ship a few upgrades…”

He looked at her for a moment, still not sure that he was believing what she was selling. Having trouble reading her, he said sternly, “I can’t guarantee any payment.”

“I’ll take my chances,” she said. “It was good to meet you, Shmi.”

Shmi nodded gently at Leia, looking as confused as her son at Leia’s newly revealed motives.

Leia turned on her heel, returning to the kitchen to grab her things. She said her goodbyes to Owen and Beru, promising she would be back for her ship as soon as possible, and then began to make her way outside to Padme’s ship. The droids were standing outside the ship waiting for Anakin to return, and Leia gave Artoo a fond pat on the head before entering.

Padme looked surprised as Leia entered the cockpit.

“Where are we headed?” Leia asked, already adjusting herself a seat.

“I beg your pardon?”

It was then that Anakin entered with the droids, looking a mix of distraught and confused, and went to sit in the co-pilot’s chair. Leia imagined it was quite hard on him to leave his mother.

“You’re coming with us?” Padme said, attention still directed at Leia. “This is a careful negotiation. We’re not trying to start a war. Or even a fight.”

Leia nodded. “I can be very diplomatic, I assure you.”

“We might need the help,” Anakin reasoned. “I’m meant to protect you, Padme. If things go wrong with Obi-Wan, I still need to make sure that you’re safe.”

Padme stared at Leia for a few long seconds, making it fairly clear she had her suspicions.

“Don’t worry,” Leia said, putting on her best Han Solo bravado. “I’ll ensure we all make it out of there with most of our limbs intact.”

“I would quite like all of my limbs in their correct places, Mistress Leia,” Threepio said worriedly.

“You’re the one I’m most worried about, Threepio,” she replied sarcastically.

Leia watched her parents from her position behind them.

Padme had began to start up the ship, doing her checks before takeoff when she paused. She turned to Anakin, saw the look of longing on his face as he looked out toward the farmhouse and put her hand on his shoulder comfortingly as they took off for Geonosis.

————————————————

The trip was short, as Padme had predicted. They eased into the atmosphere, following Obi-Wan’s last known coordinates. Leia peered curiously out of the windows. There were few planets in the galaxy that she had not visited in her decades of politics and war. This was one of them.

Never having been here before, she wasn’t sure exactly what she was sensing. There was a weird pull in the Force that she felt when they had arrived in Geonosis’ orbit—similar to the one she had felt when she had first crash-landed on Tatooine.

“See those columns of steam straight ahead?” Padme said to Anakin, studying her datapad. ”They’re exhaust vents of some type.”

“That’ll have to do,” Anakin said, guiding the ship expertly into the vent.

As they landed, all three of them unbuckled and rose from their seats. Padme was the quickest on her feet, reaching to grab her shawl.

Leia too reached for her cloak, wrapping it around herself, the hood just barely sitting atop her head.

Stepping in front of Anakin and Leia, Padme passed looks between the two. “Look, whatever happens out there, follow my lead. I’m not interested in getting into a war here. As a member of the senate, maybe I can find a diplomatic solution to this mess. And I don’t need you two swinging your lightsabers around instead of negotiating.”

“Look, I have a bad feeling about this,” Leia argued. “And I’m more than capable of—“

Anakin raised his hand in front of Leia to interrupt her “Trust me, it’s easier to just do what she says.”

Leia narrowed her eyes, but Padme had already spun around and begun to make her way out of the ship.

“I’ve given up trying to argue with her,” he told Leia, following Padme out the door.

Leia followed too, deciding that they were right. History proved that Anakin and Padme had made it through this situation just fine, and it would be best for Leia to simply tag along and stay out of the way. Unless history didn’t work that way anymore. She had no way of knowing.

She quickly caught up to the pair, trailing behind them as they pushed the controls on a doorway that led into a tunnel. As she stepped through, a shiver went up her spine. It didn’t take long for her to realize why.

From the dark walls of the tunnel, creatures began to emerge, encroaching upon the three of them. Immediately, Anakin drew his lightsaber, Leia and Padme turning back to back as they began to rush down the other end of the tunnel.

“I told you I had a bad feeling about this!” She said over the noise of the creatures as they began to attack.

It seemed like an endless stream of them were appearing, and the trio could only fight off so many. Anakin and Leia followed Padme out toward the exit, breathing a sigh of relief when the door shifted open.

“I hate bugs,” Anakin whined, placing a kick directly into another one.

At the end of the tunnel, however, Padme lost her balance, falling into the depths of the factory. Without hesitation, Leia sprinted after her jumping down as quickly as she could and chasing her down the conveyor belt.

Leia continued to run after Padme, trying her best to keep that bright white figure in her sight, only sparing a single glance back to realize that she had lost Anakin along the way. Deciding that he was likely able to handle himself in this situation, she chased after Padme as she watched her fall into a cauldron of sorts.

Not able to make it in time, she did her best to keep up with the moving belts, dodging obstacles with an accuracy she had forgotten she was capable of.

“Padme!” Leia screamed, barely audible over the machinations of the factory. “Hold on!”

She climbed her way onto a taller conveyor belt, following and timing the speed just right until she was right above the cauldron Padme was trapped in. Leia jumped down, clumsily catching on to the upper rim. She steadied her own balance, and reached one hand down toward Padme.

Unfortunately, they both found themselves rather short for the task at hand and were barely able to clasp fingers. Leia reached further down, steadying herself as best she could along the rim, the edge of the cauldron crushing her ribcage as she bent herself over it.

“Grab my hand!” Leia said, pressure starting to rise as they edged ever closer toward the lava dispenser that would surely bury Padme into a fiery death.

Padme bent down very low, jumping as high as she could to finally get a grasp on Leia’s hand.

Leia strained herself to pull Padme up, but was already losing her grip from the effort. Just as Leia was sure it was all about to end horribly, the dispenser seized up, closing and locking away. They passed through it harmlessly. Looking around to figure out what had happened, Leia locked her eyes on R2-D2, happily chirping at them from a set of controls on the upper deck.

Leia looked down at Padme with a relieved smile, exerting as much effort as she could to pull her mother up.

“Never underestimate a droid,” she said.

Out of breath, Padme nodded in agreement.

Their relief didn’t last too long however, as the cauldron flipped them sideways and the pair stumbled down onto a platform that, thankfully, did not move. Leia drew her lightsaber immediately as flying Geonosians began to encircle upon them.

Padme too drew her blaster, aiming it steady even after their tumultuous adventure. “Your left, my right, there’s a door,” she said.

Leia nodded, leaping forward to draw as much attention from Padme as she could. It worked, and she was able to start picking off as many as she could before she began to charge toward the door Padme had mentioned and clear a path for the both of them.

She swung with less purpose, and more ferocity, trying to scare them out of her way more than defeat them. It worked as well as could be expected and they were able to dive into the doors as they closed behind them and duck beneath a small service shaft.

“Well, that did not go as planned,” Leia commented, catching her breath.

“They attacked us on sight,” Padme said, shaking her head. This was not quite the situation she thought they were walking into.

“This place is too dangerous,” Leia decided. She didn’t know where Anakin was, but wondered if she would be able to reach out to him in the same way she was able to reach out to other Jedi. “We need to go back to the ship.”

Padme didn’t respond for a moment, staring thoughtfully at Leia. “No,” she concluded. “We’re going to go find Anakin.”

“Anakin is a Jedi, he can look after himself,” Leia reasoned.

“He could be in danger, just like Obi-Wan,” Padme said. “We have to find him. I’m not leaving without him.”

“We’re not going to leave without him,” Leia promised. “We’re just going to get you back to the ship for now, and I’ll—“

“Like I said,” Padme interrupted. “If you want to be here, you’re going to have to follow my lead.”

Leia opened her mouth to argue, but Padme had already turned away from her, peering down the hallway to see if the coast was clear. That was annoying.

“Can you at least follow _behind_ me then?” Leia asked. “I can try to sense our way through here and avoid any enemies."

“And how come you didn’t sense the creatures in the tunnel?” Padme argued.

“The Force is… off on this planet,” Leia admitted. “Cloudy. I don’t know why.”

Padme looked pointedly at Leia, like she had just proven her point.

Leia raised her hands in defeat, and made a gesture for Padme to lead the way.

The pair carefully made their way through the halls, though Leia had doubts that Padme had any idea where they were headed.

“I think…” Leia whispered. “This cloudiness, it’s not just the dark side… I don’t know what it is.”

“Bad feeling?” Padme questioned.

Leia shook her head. “I don’t know.”

They ducked past a hallway crossing, dodging a set of droids marching toward an exit. They watched as the doors slid open, and the roar of a raucous crowd burst through. The women glanced at each with shared curiosity, but decided to simply keep making their way through the building toward some sort of control station or security room.

It was their best bet to get their bearings. They decided to climb a few levels to do so, finding a maintenance stairway, and rushing inside. When they reached a higher floor, they stopped at an entrance door.

They glanced at each other once when Padme nodded, and Leia took charge, opening the doorway and rushing inside. It was then that someone rushed her, grabbing the thick of her arm and pulling her into the other side of an emergency door.

Leia nearly drew her lightsaber, but instead she locked eyes with her assailant and froze in place. Behind Leia, Padme had drawn her blaster aiming it steady at the back of her attacker’s head.

“Luke…?” Leia said, voice barely a whisper.

“Leia,” he responded, that boyish smile spreading across his face. It was young, like hers. All the worried traces of his life wiped clean.

Breathlessly, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in for a hug. Padme lowered her blaster. Leia squeezed him tight, making sure he was real—as much as any of this was real. They had been apart for so long, and his absence had made clear to Leia how much they were connected when they were together.

When Luke had reached out to her on Crait, her presence on the planet being the only thing that tethered him there, she remembered for a brief moment what it was like to have her brother around. And she was so incredibly furious that he would leave her again so soon.

“I reached out for you!” Leia accused in an angry whisper. “Days ago! You weren’t there.”

“I had to hide my presence,” he explained guiltily. “There’s a Sith lord here.”

“And what about before that?!” she continued. Still angry, she smacked him a few times on his upper arm. “You disappeared!”

“I’m sorry!” He replied hastily, shrinking away from her attacks.

“If you two could please do this some other time when we’re not in this volatile of a situation,” Padme interrupted. Leia had almost forgotten she was there. “Who is this?”

Leia took a moment to compose herself.

“This is my brother,” she said.

“I’m Luke Skywal—” he replied, putting his hand out for a shake.

“—Luke, no!” She hissed, stopping him.

Luke and Leia both turned back to each other, eyes wide.

“Luke and I are twins,” she replied, trying to pretend as though Luke had never said anything at all. “ _This_ is Padme Amidala, Luke.”

Somehow, Luke’s eyes grew even wider, and he visibly swallowed.

Padme took his outstretched hand for a shake, and Leia was positive his palms were sweatier than they had ever been before. Leia knew Padme wouldn’t miss that detail.

“You said your name was—“ Padme began, but was interrupted when Leia grabbed her arm and pulled her behind to shield her from a dozen droidekas wheeling their way in.

“We go left,” Luke said, as Leia drew his lightsaber.

“No!” Padme argued. “That’s back where we came from. Anakin is further into the facility, we need to find him!”

“Really?” Luke said, turning to Leia who gave him a look to shut up and not ask any questions. He got the message. “Looks like we’re fighting our way through.”

Leia nodded, diving forward to carve a path through the droids, Luke and Padme following through. Unfortunately, the seperatists had been prepared and dozens more began to stream into the hallway.

“We need to run!” Leia exclaimed, deflecting a few blasts back at the droids and already starting to run back the way they had come. “We’ll have to find another way.”

Luke followed, closely behind. “Can I have that back?” He asked, pointing toward the lightsaber.

Leia nodded, placing the saber in his hand, focused on aiming her blaster instead.

“Do you have any idea what’s going on?” Luke asked. In his experience, if anyone knew anything, it was Leia.

“No, I really don’t,” she replied. “But maybe we could hold off talking about this when we’re not being shot at?”

“How did you get this lightsaber anyway?” He asked as he swung and sliced a droideka in two. "Rey had it last."

“It was on The Falcon,” she answered, blasting one droid into another and they tumbled backward to trip up a third.

“The Falcon’s here?”

“Luke!” She exclaimed, warning him as a droid jumped out from the corner. He deflected it with a kick and they sped up toward the maintenance shaft Leia and Padme had been hiding in before, just as they began to start catching her breath, Leia looked back around the corner. “Where’s Padme?!”

Luke ducked quickly around the corner to check himself, but she hadn’t followed them.

“Damnit,” Leia hissed, her fist hitting the wall in frustration. “Follow me.”

“Is she really—?” he asked, knowing Leia already knew the rest of his question, and feeling nervous about the answer.

“Yes,” she replied, catching his wistful eye. “That’s her.”

“Is she everything we thought she’d be?” He asked, hopeful.

Leia smiled at him fondly, still not yet used to his youthful face. “Yes, she is.”

“We’d better go rescue her then.”


	5. the beginning of something

“How long have you been with them?” Luke asked curiously, sweeping his hair from his eyes.

The twins were hidden beneath a set of bleachers, trying to get a good look out into the arena through the gaps of the seats. From their vantage point, they couldn’t really see anything below.

“A few days,” Leia replied, blaster held steadily in her hand as they reached the end of the bleachers. She could finally look out into the stadium. She looked down, able to see a lone figure standing up against a mast but couldn’t make out much more from this distance. “I met Anakin’s family first.”

Luke looked really surprised. “My aunt and uncle?” He asked, and began to look through the stands for a better spot.

“His mother and step-father too,” Leia elaborated. “They were lovely.”

“Our grandmother?” He asked, feeling increasing regret that he hadn’t reached out to Leia sooner. “I never knew her. My aunt only mentioned her a few times. She died long before we born.”

Leia made a face. “I… might have… changed that,” she explained slowly.

“You saved her life?”

“She was being tortured,” Leia said, justifying herself as best she could. “I couldn’t do nothing.”

“What does that mean for us?” Luke asked, thinking out-loud more than asking.

“Do you have any new memories of Shmi Skywalker in your head?”

Luke shook his head, “The last thing I remember is the battle of Crait. I thought I was dead.”

“Same thing happened to me. Maybe this history doesn’t mean anything for our past. I don’t know,” Leia said. “None of this makes any sense.”

“The Force must have brought us here for a reason,” Luke said, taking hold of his sister’s hand. “We’ll figure it out together.”

“Or you could abandon me and go steal my ship. I’m sure you’ll have no trouble rebuilding your hut on Ahch-to. Maybe you can even grow out a beard again,” she said flippantly, shaking his hand off and making her way down a long set of stairs. There were so many Geonosians in the stands, she figured no one would even notice her walking amongst them.

Luke groaned, calling after her and following her down the staircase. He knew his sister well enough to know that she wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easily. He was usually the exception to Leia’s temper and he rarely found himself on the receiving end, but he couldn’t say that he didn’t deserve this.

She stopped suddenly, once they were on a lower level of the stands. Finally, they were able to see the entirety of the arena itself, and she leaned forward across the balcony to search down below. There was a man, dressed in all white robes with his hands chained above his head to the mast behind him.

“I think that’s Ben Kenobi,” Luke said, making sure she would be the only one able to hear him.

“Where are Anakin and Padme?” Leia wondered, trying to get a better look.

“There,” he said, pointing as flurries of movement began to thunder throughout the stadium. A set of doors within the arena had begun to open and the pair in question were wheeled in. The twins watched as they were each chained up to a pair of adjacent masts, and then turned to each other with worried looks.

Above them however, a speaker had begun to address the crowd though they couldn’t understand a word.

“I don’t understand. What did he say?” Leia asked, but it didn’t take long for them to find out as vicious creatures were brought into the arena. “Oh, this is not good.”

“We need to do something,” Luke said, eyes trained on the podium from where the speaker’s orders had come. “There’s the Sith I mentioned before. We have to stop him somehow.”

“You want to just go up there and kill him?”

“We’ll give him the chance to surrender first,” he assured.

“I don’t care about that,” she replied. “There have to be thousands in this stadium, and there are guard droids everywhere. You’re good, Luke. You’re not that good.”

“We can’t just let them die, Leia!”

“Why do you always think the only option is to go running straight for the enemy? We need a plan. We’ll go up there and I’ll lure the Sith away,” she said, already thinking of a possible disguise she could procure along the way. “You trick the speaker into calling off the execution, and then get into the arena and help everyone escape. I’ll do my best to lose him and get back to the ship. Hold them off for as long as you can and I’ll swing down and pick you all up.”

“Alright,” he agreed, and they both started to make their way through the crowd back into the depth of the building to find their way into the speaker’s box. “Maybe we should switch roles, though. I’m worried about you facing a Sith Lord by yourself.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Leia said. “Besides, I’m just going to lure him and run away. Our goal is to protect those three down there, not bring down the Sith.”

“What if we don’t get another opportunity to defeat him?” Luke asked as they climbed higher through the building. They could sense that they were getting close.

“Do you know his name?” Leia asked, worried about the growing sound of the crowd. They were cheering for something, and she worried one of the captives might have just been swallowed whole as she and her brother debated the plan.

Luke shook his head. “I have no idea who he is.”

“Then how important of a Sith could he be?” Leia reasoned. “If he was anything like Vader or the Emperor, then we would have heard of him, don’t you think?”

“He’s an accolade for the Dark Side. It doesn’t matter how important he is. He’s hurting people _now_ ,” Luke argued. “And we can stop him.”

“Think of the bigger picture, Luke.” Leia said, carefully storing her blaster into the back of her trousers beneath her cloak and out of view as they started to come up toward the private boxes of the stadium.

“Sometimes,” Luke said, dismayed but unsurprised by Leia’s ability to just brush things off as insignificant. ”You need to think about the smaller picture.”

“If I think there’s an opportunity to defeat him, then I will,” Leia assured him, wishing for a moment that they were still in the Resistance and everyone just obeyed her on principle. She had no time for her brother’s heroics.

Finally, the twins found themselves at the precipice of a long tunnel, at the end of which sat the speaker’s box.

Leia drew up the hood on her cloak, masking her face with the shadow of it. Just as she was about to enter, however, Luke sensed another presence coming down the hall and grabbed her hand. They ducked around the other side of the doorway, watching as a bald man in a brown tunic began to make his way through the same tunnel.

They spotted his manner of dress, and the hilt of a lightsaber in his hand, and realized the folly of their interference.

“Anakin must have sent Obi-Wan’s distress call to the Jedi,” Leia whispered, explaining the situation to her brother. In her quick decision to make sure she didn’t lose track of her birth parents, Leia had slipped on trying to figure out all the pieces at play here.

“Padme’s not a Jedi,” Luke said. “Maybe we should go help her.”

“Trust me,” Leia replied, “she’s more than capable of taking care of herself.”

“She’s our mother,” Luke urged, and Leia had no way of arguing with that. They rushed out into the nearest audience section, spotting a flurry of bright lightsabers across the stadium. Everything was in disarray, much more so than just a few minutes prior.

Leia drew her blaster again, Luke igniting his lightsaber, and they began to climb down as far as they could toward the centre of the arena as a legion of battle droids marched their way toward dozens of Jedi.

Luke looked a little stunned, having never imagined a scene quite like that. For most of his life, he had been the only Jedi alive. Despite his efforts in training Leia, she had always been reluctant in following the path. Witnessing dozens of Jedi Knights fighting in unison was more like a dream to Luke.

“There!” Leia called out, pointing toward Obi-Wan, Padme, and Anakin sitting atop a tamed reek. The twins continued to make their way down the stands until they witnessed the reek get hit with a heavy cannon shot, its riders thrown off and scattered into the arena. They changed course, deciding to throw caution to the wind and flinging themselves off the lowest set of stands.

Luke flipped through the air, landing gently on the sand below. Watching him jump, Leia rolled her eyes, more focused on just landing on her own two feet. She landed with a heavier thud, glad to just have made it without breaking any bones.

“I really didn’t appreciate how good it feels to be young again,” Luke said, swinging his lightsaber in steady strokes through multiple droids.

Leia smiled at him, though she wasn’t sure she could feel the same. Leia’s strengths were never reliant on her agility or strength—she excelled at commanding a crowd, leading soldiers into war, and demanding loyalty and trust. Age had given Leia gravitas. She had reached a point where she could silence a room without ever raising her voice. That was gone now.

Leia made sure to stay close to her brother, and they were slowly making their way towards their parents and the other Jedi fighters. Unfortunately, it felt like the battle droid reinforcements simply wouldn’t stop coming.

Luke cleared their immediate path while Leia shot out at the perimeter before any of the droids could get too close. Luke was pleased to see that Padme and Anakin had managed to find cover inside the toppled chariot, Anakin deflecting any blaster shots that came their way.

A few shots nearly hit Luke, and he focused his attention more on deflection than attack. It wasn’t foolproof however, and Leia screamed as a shot hit her left arm and she went flying backward. Luke planted his feet securely in front of her, determined to protect her as she started to recover.

Coming to her senses, Leia took a look around her, spotting a fallen Jedi just a few yards away. More importantly, she spotted their lightsaber laying uselessly on the ground and immediately summoned it to her good right hand.

Unfortunately from the hit, her left arm fell limp as she jumped back to her feet. It felt more numb than hurt, and she focused her adrenaline on the fight ahead.

“Are you alright?” Luke screamed over the sounds of the battle.

Leia only nodded as she ignited the lightsaber in her hand, deflecting a few good shots before breaking into a run toward Padme’s location. It was clear that the droids’ numbers were too great, and the Jedi had began to retreat into a smaller and smaller line.

They managed to catch up to Padme and Anakin, but it was already too late, the droids had surrounded them completely.

“Where have you been?” Anakin asked of Leia expectantly, swinging wildly to deflect an increasing number of blaster shots. “You were supposed to protect Padme!”

“I tried!” Leia argued, doing the same. “I lost her because she wouldn’t leave your sorry ass behind.”

The fighting around them intensified until it stopped suddenly and Leia took the opportunity to move closer to Padme, not wanting to lose track of her again.

It was then that the Sith began to talk, and demand their surrender. The Jedi from before declined surrender, and Leia learned his name to be Dooku. Unhelpful information however, as she had still never heard of him before.

As the droids spooled up their weapons to take aim on the remaining survivors, Padme shouted for their attention, directing their gaze to the sky as dozens of ships eased their way into the arena.

Leia gasped in surprise, spotting the occupants of the ships and realizing suddenly what this day was. Reading about history was a completely different beast than living through it. This was the very start of the Clone Wars, and she and Luke were definitely not supposed to be a part of it.

They all moved back into a defensive stance as the ships formed a perimeter around the remaining Jedi, Leia keeping a close eye on her parents until the ships landed. The twins followed them aboard, finally having a moment to rest as the ships took off.

Immediate danger finally waning, Leia realized how lightheaded she had become and nearly fell to the floor. Luke caught her on her way down, sitting her down carefully and examining the bleeding on her injured arm.

“Leia?” He asked worriedly. “Are you alright?”

“I’ll be fine,” she replied, though it sounded more like an automatic response than anything with true meaning. “It’s just my arm.” She was starting to look a little pale, and it was making Luke nervous.

Padme bent down to take a look as well, ripping off Leia’s sleeve to get a better look at the actual wound itself. Using the ripped sleeve, she fashioned a tourniquet around Leia’s upper arm and tied it off tightly. “We’ll get that looked after soon,” she promised.

“Thank you, I’m okay,” Leia said, shaking it off and getting back to her feet, despite Luke’s protests.

“Look over there!” Obi-Wan shouted, spotting a speeder directly in their path.

“It’s Dooku,” Anakin confirmed. Luke peered out, wondering if he could get a good blaster shot off from this distance. Unfortunately, the ship itself was out of rockets, but they continued to pursue the Sith.

“Anakin and I can handle this,” Obi-Wan assured. From the look of determination on Anakin’s face, Leia imagined they were quite right about that.

Dooku’s guards had other plans, however, falling behind their pursuit to attack their ship on either side. A few well-placed rockets managed to hit when Padme and a trooper went tumbling off the ship. On instinct, Luke immediately jumped out after her.

Anakin cried out for Padme, but Leia caught his eye and nodded—a silent assurance that she would fulfill her promise—and leapt from the ship.

When Leia finally caught up with her brother, he was bent down waiting for Padme to respond. She stirred quickly.

“Are you alright?” Luke asked for the second time.

“Uh huh,” she responded, groaning a little as she got to her feet. Luke held out his hand to help her up. One of the clones had recovered too, making his way toward them.

“We’d better get back to the forward command centre,” he said.

Padme disagreed. “No, no. Gather what troops you can, we’ve got to get to that hanger. Get a transport. Hurry!”

Luke smiled at the ease with which Padme commanded him, reminding him so much of his sister. He could sense that Leia was feeling more and more sluggish, and kept himself close to her. She had been right after all, Padme was clearly capable of taking care of herself.

The twins followed Padme and the trooper through the sand dunes.

“Why did you follow me off the ship?” She asked the both of them, as though they had done something wrong.

“I told Anakin I was coming along to help protect you,” Leia said. “That’s what I plan on doing.”

By the time they managed to board a ship and arrive at the hangar however, the Sith had already fled. Leia watched, leaning against her brother for support, as Padme shot futilely at the enemy transport.

Luke and Leia stood back in the clone ship, resting now that the troops had retreated and danger was gone. From the spot on the ship, they watched as Padme ran to Anakin who had also been injured. Obi-Wan too, was stumbling forward in pain.

Master Yoda, it appeared, had managed to remain unscathed but Luke, however, couldn’t keep his eyes off the Jedi master.

“Don’t draw attention,” Leia whispered, her head leaning against his shoulder.

“I think it’s too late,” Luke replied.

Yoda, Obi-Wan, and their parents, began to make their way toward their transport—toward them. Leia almost gasped at the sight of Anakin’s missing hand, remembering the day Luke had almost died from the same injury. She wondered suddenly if Vader had done it on purpose, a cosmically ironic sort of gesture.

“New friends, we appear to have found,” Yoda said, as they all began to board the transport.

“This is Luke and Leia,” Padme introduced, guiding Anakin to take a seat. Him and Leia were looking equal amounts pale. “They helped us. They came here to protect me.”

“Jedi, are you?” He questioned, moving closer toward the pair.

“No,” Leia replied quickly. “We were just looking for a little adventure and got caught up in something we shouldn’t have.”

Yoda hummed in disbelief, and Leia felt foolish for even trying. She could sense the way he studied them both and it made her feel uneasy. “Powerful in the Force, you both are.”

“Master Jedi,” Luke said. “We’re really not looking for any trouble. We were just trying to help.”

“We’re grateful for your protection of Senator Amidala,” Obi-Wan said, ever the mediator.

“Questions we have for the unknown Jedi,” Yoda said. “Back on Coruscant we will ask.”

Leia’s brow immediately narrowed, and she sat up straighter, no longer leaning against Luke. “We’re not going to the Jedi temple.”

“A choice, unfortunately, you are not given.”

“We don’t have a choice?” Leia asked, affronted. “Unless we’re under arrest, we will not be escorted anywhere to be interrogated by you and your order.”

“Leia…” Luke said, trying to calm her down. “It’s just some questions. It’ll be okay.”

“It damn well will not,” she said, shaking him off. She couldn’t predict what the Jedi could sense in them, had no idea what kind of information was or was not safe to disclose. It was too risky. “In fact, we’ll just be leaving this transport right now—“

“Master Yoda,” Padme interjected, stepping up in between him and Leia. “Leia and her brother are my personal guests. That means that they have my full diplomatic protection. She is injured, and therefore I will be inviting them home with me to Naboo where she will be receiving medical care and fair compensation for their protection. I hope you understand.”

Calmly, Yoda considered her words for a moment and then nodded his head in acquiescence, not looking to argue with Leia’s temperament.

“I will be returning with the senator as well,” Anakin added, one of the clone medics attending to his hand. “It is still my duty to protect her.”

Obi-Wan looked hesitant at Anakin’s insistence, ultimately decided not to push it. He worried about Anakin’s increasing attachment to the young woman, but there were other things to worry about now.

Another medic came up to Leia, intent on checking her. His helmet however made Leia feel uncomfortable and she shooed him away, assuring everyone that her arm was just fine with the makeshift bandage she already had on.

Padme made her way to the front of the ship, informing the troopers of her ship’s location so that they might circle around and drop them off. The clone army would be rendezvousing elsewhere, and she needed to get Anakin and Leia some real medical attention as soon as possible.

Leia leaned back into Luke, letting him hold up her weight until they finally arrived. The entire ride, she felt Yoda’s presence upon them and could not stop fidgeting until they touched down and re-boarded Padme’s ship where C3PO and R2-D2 had been awaiting their return.

“Be safe and wise, my young padawan,” Obi-Wan said, giving Anakin a pat on his shoulder as they departed.

—————————————————————————

“This will be interesting,” Luke said, helping Leia into her seat and strapping her up before taking his own seat in the co-pilot’s chair. “I’ve never been to Naboo, always wanted to.”

“It’s pretty,” Leia said, her voice quiet as she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. “You’ll like it.”

Anakin was in a poor way himself, Padme helping him into his own seat before rummaging around in the back of the ship for a medical kit. She handed Luke some bacta pads for Leia’s arm while disinfecting and wrapping up Anakin’s arm at the same time. The heat of the blade meant there was no bleeding from Anakin’s amputation, but both were still in need of medical attention. He had already fallen asleep, his injury much more traumatic than Leia’s.

Satisfied with her handiwork, Padme took her seat in the pilot’s chair and began preflight preparations. Luke sat down next to her, being the only other option as co-pilot.

“Thank you,” Luke said to Padme. “If you didn’t step in, I think Leia might have gotten into a fight with the entire Jedi Order.”

“Your sister does seem to enjoy arguing with everyone she meets,” Padme commented, done her checks and pulling back on the throttle and taking off.

“You’re not wrong,” Luke laughed. “The first time we met, I was rescuing her from a prison cell and she yelled at me for not having a good enough escape plan.”

“The first time you met?” Padme repeated, turning to face him. They were nearly out of the atmosphere, and she already had her hand on the hyperspace ignition.

Luke blinked dumbly, realizing his mistake and chuckled awkwardly. He had no idea what Leia might have told Padme, and was realizing he should have kept his mouth shut. Just like he should have kept his mouth shut before. “We didn’t grow up together,” he answered, deciding that he would not elaborate any further.

“Why was she imprisoned? How did you know to rescue her?”

Luke stared at Padme in response, trying to formulate the right story in his mind. His response was taking too long and growing Padme’s suspicion until Leia called out for him.

“Luke,” Leia said, voice still quieter than normal in a way that truly worried him. “Can you get me some water?”

He nodded in relief, grateful that Leia had saved him from Padme’s prying eyes, and unstrapped himself from his chair to go digging through her bag for a bottle. “You doing okay?” He asked, bringing the bottle to his sister’s lips.

“Hold on,” Padme warned. “I’m jumping to lightspeed now.”

Luke took a good grip of Leia’s chair to steady himself.

“I’ll be fine,” Leia replied to his concern. “I just need some rest.”

“Maybe you could heal her,” Padme suggested, letting go of the controls now that they were in hyperspace and swinging her chair around.

Luke looked confused, glancing back and forth between Padme and Leia. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Leia used the Force to heal Anakin’s mother. Can you do the same?” Padme asked.

“How did you learn how to do that?” Luke asked of Leia, sealing the water bottle and tucking it away again.

“The texts, you idiot,” she replied. “You were there for six years all by yourself and you never even read them?”

Luke’s mouth formed into a tight line, remembering Yoda chastising him for the same thing. “I read some of them,” he replied unconvincingly. “They were difficult to translate.”

Leia sighed dramatically. “At least you’re pretty,” she teased, patting the side of her brother’s cheek and closing her eyes again. Luke hadn’t realized how frightening this was—seeing his sister hurt. Sometimes she seemed invincible to him; like she was too stubborn to ever get hurt.

Padme maneuvered to Anakin’s side, checking to make sure he was hanging in there. The cut on his arm was clean, and his breathing was steady. Cursory checks were all she was capable of unfortunately, at least until they arrived at their destination.

“Is he okay?” Luke asked.

Padme only nodded in response before returning to the pilot’s seat and browsing through her datapad. “What were you doing on Geonosis?” She asked, not bothering to look up from the holo.

“It’s complicated,” he replied, not leaving Leia’s side.

“Try me,” Padme said. “I think you’ll find I’m pretty smart.”

Luke shook his head, wanting nothing more than to tell his mother everything. But he knew he couldn’t, and he knew Leia would kill him for thinking about it. “I need to talk to my sister first, when she’s feeling better. Then maybe I’ll have some answers for you.”

“Once you’ve gotten your stories straight?” She challenged, her eyebrows raised. Padme was gazing at him with such determination that he began to feel guilty for lying.

“It’s complicated.”

“Your sister is a much better liar than you,” Padme said, not backing down.

Luke smiled, well aware of that particular shortcoming. “Oh, I know.”

The rest of the ride to Naboo was quiet, Padme periodically checking on both Leia and Anakin. The clones’ medics had assured them that they were in no immediate danger, but Padme was worried nonetheless.

Luke had been worried too, but was having just as much trouble keeping to himself. It was taking everything he had to not ask Padme a million questions about herself. This was a moment he had only ever dreamed about. Leia had memories of their mother, but not Luke, and he had always been just a little bit jealous about that connection.

He glanced over at Padme a few times, curiosity on the tip of his tongue but decided better of it. Hehad already decided he would confer with Leia before acting.

In her sleep, Leia was restless and Luke could feel her unease deep in his bones. He was sure he heard her mumble Ben’s name a few times under her breath, and he felt guilt stab him in the chest.

He had thought that the last time they’d met, and he’d placed that kiss to her forehead, would be the last they saw of each other in life. Luke knew he would never be able to apologize enough to Leia, but she had forgiven him in that old rebel bunker, knowing he was about to die, and he had made his peace with it. But now, he was going to have to face it for real.

“We’ll be arriving soon,” Padme said, breaking Luke out of his thoughts.

Luke nodded, returning to the co-pilot’s seat next to her.

The city of Theed slowly filled the viewport, and Padme guided them to an elaborate estate that Luke would later learn was the royal palace of Naboo.

Waking Anakin and Leia from their slumber, Luke and Padme helped them inside, a series of medical droids coming out to escort them into the medbay. Leia’s forehead had begun to glisten, sweat droplets forming.

They took Anakin and Leia to different rooms, and Luke refused to leave his sister’s side as the droids did their work. Luke knew he would sense in the Force if Leia was in any real danger, but it didn’t help seeing her like that.

Trying not to let his worry get the better of him, Luke eventually stepped out of the room, gazing out across the quad. There were beautiful fauna and trees in a large garden in the centre of the palace courtyard directly outside the medical bay. Luke, not wanting to go too far, made his way toward the railing overlooking the garden just a few meters from the door to Leia’s room.

He closed his eyes, cleared his mind, and began to meditate. He had learned to find solace in meditation over the past few years, and now he could connect with the Force to assure himself of his sister’s health.

When a nurse did finally come to find him, he could already sense that it was good news.

“Your sister developed an infection,” the nurse informed. “But, she’ll be just fine with a few days rest. We’re letting her sleep through the worst of it for now.”

Luke nodded, thanking him for his help and decided to go find out how Anakin was faring. He was pleased, after poking his head into Anakin’s room, to find his father sitting upright on the table being fitted for a new mechanical arm.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Luke said, Padme and Anakin looking up at the sound of his voice. “Just checking to see if everything was alright?”

Padme nodded.

“I don’t think we’ve formally met in all the chaos,” Luke said, striding up to Anakin and putting his left hand out for a shake. “I’m Luke.”

Anakin reciprocated with his good hand. “Anakin Skywalker,” he greeted. “How is Leia?”

“Her arm got infected, but she’ll be alright,” Luke replied.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Padme said kindly. “You and your sister are welcome to stay here for as long as you need. The queen will not mind our using her facilities.”

“Thank you,” Luke said. “I am really grateful for everything you’ve done.”

“Yes, of course. And you can let her know she will still be getting her payment,” Padme continued.

“Her payment?” Luke asked, confused.

“She’s a mercenary, isn’t she?”

Luke laughed in disbelief. “Leia? A mercenary?”

Anakin too looked confused.

He realized suddenly, by the looks on their faces, that she must have given them a cover story of some sort, and his expression sobered. “I’m not sure what Leia told you, but I know my sister. I’m sure she just wanted to help—no expectations. I’m going to go check on her, I’m glad you’re okay.”

Luke made his way out quickly, worried about being questioned by Padme again. Worried that he might decide to just start answering honestly. He wandered into Leia’s room, pleased to see her eyes open and staring out the window into the bright afternoon’s sky.

“I’ve been here before,” Leia said without moving, having sensed her brother’s entrance. “After the Death Star.” She turned to Luke finally and smiled.

He reciprocated and moved to sit on her bed, his legs hanging off the side.

“There was this huge mural, just down by the palace entrance, of Padme,” she told him. “Before we knew we were siblings. Her face was so familiar, but… I must have forgot about it until now. We may look young, but I feel so very old, Luke.”

Luke smiled at her again. “This face is really going to ruin my grumpy old man persona.”

Leia laughed, tilting her head downwards to get a good look at her brother and let her eyes drift closed for a moment. “I am very tired.”

“You know, a long time ago in the Rebellion, one of the other pilots told me a rumour that no one had ever seen you go to sleep; that you just stayed up all day and night like a droid, planning the downfall of the empire. But, once you reigned victorious, you would finally fulfill your destiny and sleep for an entire year. I think I believed it for a while.”

Leia let out a breathy laugh, not having the energy to open her eyes. “Well, let me get my year of sleep then,” she mumbled to him.

“Did you do it? Did you bring the First Order to its downfall?”

Leia smiled sadly and shook her head. “I don’t know. It was never my fight to finish—it was theirs: Rey, Poe, all of them… even Ben. I choose to believe they succeeded.”

“If they won, then why are we here?”

Leia grumbled, annoyed that Luke wouldn’t let her sleep. “I don’t know, Luke.”

“Maybe we should have gone with Yoda,” he said. “They might have the answers we need.”

“We can’t trust them,” she insisted. “These Jedi, this Order—they’re not like you. The things Anakin has told me… they’re not heroes, Luke. They’re just another organization in this galaxy with more power than they deserve.”

“I know Yoda, and Ben, they’re not like that. You told me your father knew the Jedi, worked with them during the war,” he argued. It was cheap to bring up Bail, whom Leia had never ceased to idolize, but he also knew it would work. “How bad could they be if he trusted them?”

Leia narrowed her eyes at him. “Their hubris is going destroy them soon,” she replied, shaking her head. “We don’t want to be in the middle of that. What if they don’t believe us? What if they do? What if they think we’re a threat to the balance of the Force and decide to get rid of us?”

“That’s not going to happen,” he said resolutely.

Leia sighed, not wanting to argue anymore and turning over onto her side away from him. “I like the grumpy old man routine better.”

“What’s your plan, then? If you won’t go to the Jedi.”

“I don’t have one,” Leia mumbled, getting herself as comfortable as she could in the bed.

“But you always have a plan,” he said.

“Can’t make a plan if I don’t know all the pieces at play,” she replied, letting herself finally drift off to sleep.

————————————

“—kinda tacky,” was all Luke heard from Leia as he entered the common area. She was sitting on the sofa with her arm in a sling, legs curled up under a blanket, munching on some shuura fruit.

On the other side of the sofa was Anakin, hunched over his own plate of fruit that sat on the table in front of them.

“It is not tacky,” Anakin replied, grumpy.

“I could see it from space,” Leia said, taking a juicy bite from her snack. Luke couldn’t remember the last time she looked less regal. Her hair was still braided, but wrapped in a messy bun, her dressing gown simple and neutral against the background of elaborate Nabooian architecture.

“It’s not that bad,” he said defensively, turning to face her with a hint of a pout on his face. “I can wear a glove.”

“Reminds me of a space pirate,” Leia said. “You could get some gold teeth to match.”

“I look battle-tested,” Anakin said resolutely, and then added: “as long as Padme likes it, that’s what matters.”

“That’s not really what women look for in a man,” Leia said off-handedly, finishing off her fruit and picking up a datapad to start browsing through it.

Anakin stayed quiet for a moment before deciding to go ahead and ask. “What are women looking for?”

Luke almost felt bad for interrupting them as he made his way to the sofa, and took a seat next to Leia. This wasn’t quite the scene he had been expecting when he decided to look around for his sister.

With Luke’s presence, Anakin suddenly looked embarrassed for having asked his question.

“I don’t know,” Leia said, clearly still in the mood to tease Anakin mercilessly. Maybe being stuck in the hospital ward was getting to her. “What do women want in a man, Luke?”

Luke widened his eyes at his sister, annoyed that she had pulled him into this.

“ _You’re_ the woman,” Luke deflected, not wanting to be caught in the middle.

“Oh, but as Anakin said before you came in,” Leia replied, not looking up from her datapad, “I’m not a _normal_ woman.”

Luke turned his head slowly to Anakin who was clearly now regretting ever having sat down near Leia at all. “You didn’t.”

“I didn’t mean it like that!” He said defensively. “I meant _nice_ women.”

“I’m not a nice woman?”

“No,” Anakin said. “You’re completely insufferable.”

Luke opened his mouth to start in defence of his sister, but it quickly dawned on him that this small spat had very little bite to it. In fact, they were arguing like they’d done it a million times before. He’d admit that he didn’t know Anakin very well, but he did know his sister—and this was certainly Leia’s M.O.

“I’m going to go find Padme,” he announced, deciding he’d had quite enough of Leia’s relentless teasing.

“Thanks for the fruit!” She called over her shoulder as he left, receiving no reply from the young Jedi and gestured towards Luke to him to help himself to the plate.

“What was that?” He asked her when they were finally safe from Anakin’s prying ears.

Leia looked up at him and shrugged.

“I just never thought I’d see you… like that, with _him_.”

She sighed. “I’m trying.”

“I’m surprised. That’s all.”

“He’s not Vader,” she said, knowing exactly what he was implying. “I can’t forgive that monster. But after everything we’ve been through, after Ben… He’s not Vader. I’m trying to see him as a different person.”

Luke smiled at her. The craziness of Geonosis behind them, it was kind of nice to just sit there together.

“Are you ready to talk about it?” She asked suddenly. Her words were vague, but Luke knew exactly what she was asking about and the answer was no.

His smile dropped, and he soberly turned his gaze down toward his hands.

“What? You thought you avoided this conversation by dying?”

Six years of overwhelming guilt and shame flooded Luke.

As hard-shelled as Leia could often be, he knew that she dropped her guard with him—there was a warmth she had around him in their private moments that he had sorely missed. It was the reason he had exiled himself—he had known that he couldn’t drown himself in self-flagellation when she was around. She was a dichotomy: endlessly critical and yet made everyone around her feel like they were capable of accomplishing anything. At the time, he wasn’t able to tolerate either.

“Leia…” he started, unable to find the right words to explain himself.

“You left,” she said, though her tone was more disappointed than accusatory. “I searched for you for years, trying to piece my family back together. And you just left.”

“I couldn’t face you,” he said. “Not after I had failed you so completely.”

“You didn’t fail me on Yavin,” Leia said sadly. “You did it when you left. I lost everything, Luke. My son, my career, my marriage… and then my brother.”

“No,” Luke said. “It was my fault. You lost Ben because of me. I sensed the darkness in him, and I almost… I betrayed him, my students, and you that day. I created Kylo Ren.”

“No, Luke!” Leia said, trying to get him to understand. “Palpatine is the reason. He was always the reason! Our entire lives! Right now, before you and I have even been conceived, he’s worming his way into our family—manipulating Anakin, manipulating the Senate, the Jedi… the entire galaxy.”

It dawned on Luke suddenly. “That’s why you followed Anakin and Padme to Geonosis.”

“I can save him,” Leia said, confirming his suspicions with that tell-tale look of determination on her face. He’d seen it a million times before. “We can save everyone.”

“… Leia, saving Anakin won’t make up for not saving Ben.”

“Then why are we here?! My father and my son will kill billions of people one day, and I’m supposed to do nothing? Let it happen?”

Luke could tell she’d already decided, and there was no stopping Leia when she was like this.

“And then what?” He asked, still not convinced that she would be able to see things through beyond her need for vindication. Leia always had unerring confidence that anything she did was the right thing to do. And while she was usually right, Luke wasn’t so sure. “You told me you didn’t have a plan.”

“I don’t really have anything concrete,” she replied. “Not yet at least.”

“You’re just going to take down the most powerful political figure in the galaxy all by yourself?”

“Well, I’d like _you_ to help me,” she said. “But if you’re not willing… then yes. I’ve built armies with less.”

“I am always on your side, Leia,” he promised. And he meant it. But they had often followed different paths, and he wasn’t sure that he was ready to follow her in this quite yet. “I still think we should consult with the Jedi Order. Don’t you feel the cloudiness in the Force?”

Leia looked away, not wanting to hear it again.

“I know you don’t trust them—“

“You need to learn to make decisions without always being guided by old ghosts,” she said bitingly. “If we fight him now and defeat him, we’ll save the galaxy before it ever knew it was in danger.”

“There are ways to win without fighting,” Luke argued.

“No, there aren’t.”

Knowing he wasn’t going to convince her otherwise, Luke stood up and threw his hands into the air in defeat. “I’m going to go find Anakin. Maybe he can tell me a little about the Jedi.”

Leia shrugged in response, turning back to her datapad.

Luke left with a sigh, realizing he hadn’t had a chance to talk to Leia about Padme’s increasing suspicion. Deciding that was a problem for later, he left his sister alone on the couch and tried to remind himself that at least she was back to her usual self.

He wandered out in the hall, but with Anakin having been patched up and discharged, he realized he didn’t know where the young man was staying.

The palace was huge, and though he had been disconnected from the Force for a long time, he found it quite normal to reach out and sense Anakin. It was familiar, like Vader had been, but different still. He couldn’t explain it, but Leia was right he supposed—Anakin wasn’t Vader.

Making his way through the maze of the royal palace, he ran into a small droid being followed by a larger blue droid he knew quite well.

“Is that you, Artoo?” He said, bending down to wipe some dirt off of R2’s headplate.

He beeped in response, and Luke remembered that this wasn’t really yet his droid. He hadn’t known how much he had missed him until he’d seen him in the Falcon after all those years—the little droid he’d always trusted with his secrets.

“Can you help me find Anakin?” He asked of him, standing back up.

Before R2-D2 had a chance to respond, Padme turned the corner and he beeped at her instead.

“You’re looking for Anakin?” She asked, eyebrow raised.

“Uhm, uh—yeah,” he replied, internally chastising himself for his lack of elocution. He was in his fifties, he should be able to talk to his birth mother without tripping over himself. “Have you seen him?”

“We’re actually about to leave,” she informed him.

“Oh,” he replied dumbly, caught off-guard. “Where are you going?”

“Just a meeting. At an estate a bit away from here,” she said, making it quite clear that it wasn’t really any of Luke’s business.

“Is it safe for you to leave?”

“That’s why Anakin is coming with me,” she replied. “We’ll be back to Theed in a day or two, if you and your sister are still around.”

“To be honest, we don’t really have anywhere else to go,” Luke said. “I was hoping I could join Anakin when he returned to the Jedi Temple.”

“Unfortunately, this meeting can’t be missed,” Padme said apologetically. “Please enjoy our hospitality, and I’m sure when we get back he’ll be happy to help you.”

“Thank you,” he said, giving her a small smile.

“Of course,” she replied, returning a knowing smile of her own. “Besides, I have something I need to speak with you both about when I get back anyways. I’ll see you then.”

Luke looked a little stunned at her sudden departure, worried about her words, but she had already begun to walk off before he had a chance to question her. Wherever Padme and Anakin were going, Luke had a bad feeling about their return.


	6. i know when something is amiss

“Alright, wake up,” was the first sound Luke heard that morning. From the dark orange colour of the sun peeking through the window, he knew it had to be quite early in the morning as well. He supposed he’d gotten used to setting his own sleep schedule—waiting to die alone on a remote planet meant that you could sleep and wake whenever you pleased.

He really needed just a few more minutes to lie back in this lush royal bedding…

When a pillow hit his face, Luke finally sat up in bed and groaned.

“What’s the big idea?” He complained, grabbing the pillow and tossing it behind him onto the bed.

Leia stood in front of him, hair tied up in a tight bun, wearing a set of gold trousers and a loose red shirt that she’d tied together with a dark belt. Her clothes were uncharacteristically colourful, and Luke imagined she must have obtained them here on Naboo.

As he stood up, she tossed a shirt into his face and he let out another groan.

“Let’s go,” she said impatiently. “You’re going to help me train.”

“Train? For what?” He asked, pulling off his sleep shirt and putting on the one she had given to him. It was red like hers, and for whatever reason, he felt strange that they were matching.

“If I’m going to defeat the Sith Lord that wiped out the entire Jedi Order, I need to be in top form,” she said.

Luke sighed, dismayed that she was still on about this.

“Don’t whine,” she told him, all business. “You’re going to help me.”

“Is that an order, General Organa?”

Leia smiled cheekily. “It is, soldier. Let’s go,” she said, turning on her heel and heading out the door before Luke was even finished pulling on his shoes.

They’d had one evening, just one, where all they did was relax and eat fruit in a building full of luxury and calm. Luke wished it could have just lasted a little bit longer, but Leia never could seem to let things rest.

Luke, at a much slower pace, made his way to the palace courtyard where he found Leia standing completely still with her eyes closed. Her arm was still in a sling, and it made her look slightly unbalanced as she reached her other hand out and summoned the lightsaber that had been sitting on the floor.

“How’s your arm?” Luke asked.

“It’s fine,” she replied, and Luke gave her a stern look. He knew that would be her answer, and he also wanted her to know that he wasn’t just going to let her get away with the lie. Rolling her eyes are at the look on his face she added: “They injected it with something, and now it’s all numb. I’m good.”

“That doesn’t _sound_ good.”

Leia sighed at his overprotectiveness. “I’ve had worse.”

“I know,” he said. “But maybe we should take it easy? There’s no rush, Leia. We have years before Empire Day happens.”

“We don’t know when Anakin turns to the dark side,” she reasoned. “For all we know, he might become Vader next week.”

“You don’t believe that,” Luke said, making his way over to the rock garden and picking up the medium-sized rocks he came across one by one. He turned back around and dropped them all at Leia’s feet.

“Maybe not,” she said. “But if we can stop Palpatine before he gets too far into his head… we need to try. I'm not letting Vader rise.”

Luke gestured for Leia to sit down. “Cross your legs,” he said, plopping down on the ground and getting comfortable. “You’ve always been powerful with the Force, I don’t think you’ve ever needed help with that, so let’s practice some precision.”

Leia nodded.

“Why don’t you try stacking the rocks on top of each other to begin,” he suggested.

Leia shook herself loose, tucked her injured arm tightly into her chest and raised the other hand out in front of her. Slowly, she raised one rock and gently balanced it on top of another. With those two balanced, she brought another third to stack on top. It took some time, but eventually she had gotten six of them stacked together before her concentration broke for just a moment and they all fell with soft thumps upon the ground.

“That was good,” Luke praised.

“I’ve been training Rey for the better part of a year,” she explained. “I’m not rusty, just haven’t been focused on my own skills.”

“You apprenticed Rey?” He repeated, surprised to hear it.

“Well, who else was going to do it?” Leia asked pointedly. “She’s a good girl. She would have been fine without me.”

“What else did you teach her? Besides healing people?”

“We tried that projection trick you did,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t know how you travelled so far.”

“It did kill me.” He said with a serious nod, as though that were a normal sentence one might just say on any given day.

“Oh,” she said, suddenly, an afterthought coming to her. “I also travelled in the vacuum of space, but I haven’t tried to replicate that one yet.”

Luke blinked at her a few times. “You—what?”

“I think it was mostly instinct,” she explained, stretching her neck a little before closing her eyes and turning her attention back to the rocks.

“I’m going to try to knock them over a few times. Do you think you can stop me?” He asked.

Leia smiled, and newfound determination spread across her face. Luke knew how to incentivize his sister well and challenging her was always the right answer.

“Let’s do this, old man,” she taunted, keeping her eyes closed to clear herself of distractions.

Luke shook his head, lifting his hand in concentration, gently nudging at his sister’s stack of rocks.

Leia managed to keep it steady, concentrating on every stone as she sensed them.

“What is this about the vacuum of space?” He asked, still keeping gentle as he attempted to tip the rocks over.

Leia sighed without opening her eyes. “Cruiser command centre was destroyed, and all of us along with it,” she explained. “It happened so fast… I thought I was going to die. I didn’t know what to do, I could barely move… and then I pulled the ship toward me.”

“The cruiser?”

Leia nodded. “I woke up hours later.”

“That’s incredible, Leia,” he replied, pushing harder at the stack of rocks.

“It wasn’t some new trick,” she said, her forehead crinkling in concentration. “It was like pulling anything else, just… bigger.”

“I’m still impressed,” he said. “You would’ve been a strong Jedi Knight.”

“I don’t think I would have lasted very long growing up in the Temple here,” Leia said, pushing back harder against Luke’s attempts.

Increasing his power, he could see the rocks start to shake and Leia’s hand begin to tremble. “I still think I would like to visit it. I’ve always been curious,” Luke said,

Too focused now, Leia didn’t reply, and Luke increased his attempts further. He could sense her pushing back harder and harder until he realized she was no longer attempting to keep the rocks up at all, she was just trying to push him away. Finally, it was Leia that toppled the rocks over, nearly flying into Luke’s lap. Leia sighed.

“If you had stayed focused on the energy around the rocks and simply ignored me, then I never would have been able to push them over.”

“Alright,” she said, clearly bothered by her failure but kept a determined look on her face. “Let’s try again.”

Luke cleaned off the rocks that had fallen near him and began to place them back in their piles within the garden instead. “Let’s go for a walk.”

“A walk?” Leia repeated, confused.

“I’ve never been to Naboo,” Luke said. “We could have grown up here, you know? If things had been different. I’d like to explore.”

For a moment, Leia studied her brother, amused by his wide-eyed expression. “I’d like to try again.”

Luke shook his head. “I know you have a new life purpose, Leia. But right now, we are alive and safe, and we can just take a moment.”

“Alright,” she acquiesced, smiling. “Let’s explore.”

————————

Padme’s laid still on Anakin’s chest; her head tucked into the crook of his neck. She doesn’t have to look at him to sense the smile on his face.

There had been a moment, their last few nights on Naboo, where Anakin’s veneer had changed. It had worried Padme at the time. He hadn’t slept, hadn’t eaten much, completely consumed by worry and fear. It was why she had insisted they go to Tatooine when they did, scared for his wellbeing.

Looking up at him now, she saw none of that on his face. He had lost a limb, a new war had begun across the galaxy, but his expression had lost its weariness—he seemed content. She was too.

Deciding that they had spent enough of the morning in bed, she untangled herself from her new husband and rose to her feet, pushing open the terrace doors to let the sun and breeze come streaming in.

“It’s lovely today,” she commented, gazing out over the water.

Anakin smiled at her reverently, mesmerized by the glow she had around her. He didn’t move, just watched as she turned around to face him.

“I think we should go for a swim,” she suggested.

He chuckled. “We can do anything you’d like.”

“Breakfast first,” she decided, turning back to look out on the lake.

“Okay,” Anakin nodded, finally rising from the bed. He meandered over to Padme, wrapping his arms around her waist with his chin tucked against her flowing hair after a kiss to the side of her face.

They stood like that for a while, simply enjoying the moment. Everything about it was serene.

“Is something the matter?” Anakin asked, too sensitive to her every emotion.

Padme shook her head in response. “No. I am happier than I’ve ever been, Ani.”

Anakin smiled as he leaned in for another kiss.

When he pulled away, he gave her a pointed look. “There _is_ something bothering you.”

Padme sighed. “Luke and Leia,” she said with a shrug. “Is there… I don’t know—something strange about them?”

Anakin narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“It’s just… I’ve noticed things. Things that don’t make any sense.”

He still looked confused.

“Why was Leia on Tatooine?” She asked. “A Jedi, or whatever she claims to be, just happens to stumble into the middle of a nowhere desert planet on the Outer Rim? Just happens to meet your stepbrother and save your mother’s life? Exactly the same time before we arrived?”

Anakin’s brow furrowed; the strangeness of the situation hadn’t quite occurred to him.

“And then, she comes with us to Geonosis, in the middle of a powder keg that ignites a Galactic Civil War, and who do we run into? Her twin brother. He refused to explain why he was there… He said something that I can’t shake, Anakin.”

“What?” he asked, still confused.

“Leia tried to stop him, but when he introduced himself, he told me his name was Skywalker.”

Anakin chuckled in disbelief.

“What?”

“Maybe they’re from Tatooine, that’s where we met Leia after all. Skywalker isn’t exactly common, but it’s not impossible they have the same name.”

“Leia claims to be from Alderaan,” Padme argued.

“She could have lied. No one I’ve met actually wishes they were from Tatooine.”

“No…” Padme mused. “Her accent is definitely from Alderaan; and the way she dresses. I think that part’s true.”

“I don’t sense any bad intentions from them,” he told her. “She saved my mother, Padme. Whatever reason she was at that moisture farm, I’ll always be grateful. And Luke didn’t even think about it before jumping off to rescue you on Geonosis.”

“And you don’t find that strange?” Padme asked pointedly.

“Maybe they’re just good people,” Anakin offered.

“Luke lied to me, and then admitted that he was keeping something from me. He refused to tell me why he was on Geonosis,” she continued. “Something is off about those two.”

“Then why did you bring them here?” Anakin asked, confused but still amused by his wife’s actions.

“Leia was hurt while protecting me,” Padme said. “I couldn’t leave her at the mercy of the Jedi.”

“But if you don’t trust them—”

“It’s not about trust,” she explained. “It’s… nevermind.”

“What is it?”

“You’re going to think I’m crazy.”

Anakin smiled gently. “I could never think that about you.”

Padme couldn’t fight the infectiousness of his smile, laughing softly. She exhaled before elaborating. “Do you think she looks like me?”

Anakin looked taken aback. “Leia?”

She nodded.

“What are you saying, Padme?”

“I don’t know!” She replied, shaking her head. “I may not be able to use the Force, or have visions like you do, but I know when something is amiss.”

“She does remind me of your sister,” Anakin said.

Brow furrowed, Padme turned back to face him directly. “Sola?”

“Yes,” he replied. “They both look at me the same way: judgemental.”

That made Padme laugh. She had thought Sola liked Anakin, regardless of her sister’s teasing. Leia, not so much. “Sola’s just protective,” Padme said. “She’s my older sister, it’s her job to ward off boys that I bring home with me.”

“I like your family,” Anakin told her. “They’re kind; loving.”

She smiled at him. “I wish I could tell them about us.”

He grimaced at her words; he would have liked that too. But they were in a tenuous situation. It wasn’t possible, at least for now.

“Why don’t we talk to the twins? When we return to Theed,” he suggested, holding Padme tightly in his arms, trying to convince her to wash away her worrying thoughts. “Maybe they’ll just tell us.”

Padme sighed, finally giving in. She leaned into his chest and took a deep breath of fresh lakeside air. “Alright,” she said. “Breakfast?”

“Breakfast,” he agreed.

————————

**5 YEARS AFTER THE BATTLE OF YAVIN, 1 YEAR AFTER THE FALL OF THE EMPIRE - LUKE AND LEIA - AGE 25:**

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to these inner system planets,” Luke commented, keeping one cautious hand on the lightsaber attached to his waist as they made their way through the busy streets of Coruscant.

“Me neither,” Leia replied, sliding out of the way as a flurry of young street kids whizzed past them on hoverbikes. “Even the biggest cities on Alderaan weren’t like this.”

“Are you sure this is the right way?” He questioned, though he followed in step nonetheless.

Leia nodded in response. The entire planet was one large grid and it was easy to get turned around, but she had done her research and was confident they were headed in the right direction.

Without needing to provide any additional navigation, Luke followed at a slow pace, taking in the endless lights of the city around him. It seemed like every time he found himself on Coruscant he was looking for something from a past that didn’t quite belong to him—and he never seemed to find the right thing. This time, he really hoped they would.

“Do you think any ruins of the Jedi temple might still exist?” Luke asked curiously. The last time he had come in search of the Jedi archives, he hadn’t even been able to get near the site.

“No,” Leia replied, more resolute than Luke had been expecting. “The Emperor removed any trace of it. Anything left was smuggled out or destroyed. I doubt we’d find even the remnants.”

Luke grimaced in response. “I’ve heard amazing stories. I would’ve liked to have seen it.”

Sensing his disappointment, Leia smiled back at her brother. “Maybe we can visit the old location if we have time. You can… experience a Force vibration or something.”

“A what?” He asked, amused.

“You know,” she said offhandedly, “when you’re near something or touch something, and you can feel what happened to it. What’s it called?”

“Is that something you learned how to do?” Luke asked, taken back that his sister still had some surprises left for him to discover.

Leia looked at him annoyedly. “Only by accident. I thought it would be part of my training.”

“I mean, I’ve had visions and precognition but not _through_ an object.”

“Oh,” she said, surprised. “Does that make me a better Jedi than you?”

“You haven’t even built your own lightsaber yet,” Luke argued, once again wondering why he had roped Leia into training in the first place. A part of him felt like she wasn’t taking it seriously, another part, the sibling part, was annoyed by how easily she seemed to pick it up regardless of effort.

“Ilum is just so cold,” Leia complained. “Haven’t you had enough of cold planets to last you a lifetime?”

“Hoth was years ago,” Luke reasoned. “We’ve been in the rainforest for the better part of a year now.” He didn’t fully understand Leia’s resistance to facing the trials on Ilum to build her own saber. He was sure she was skilled enough but had been reluctant to move forward—for whatever reason, she just didn’t want her training to end.

Leia ignored him, deliberately he noted, and finally ducked through a series of gateways before stopping in front of a large intake pipe. “This is it,” she informed her brother, pushing him forward.

Luke peered inside. It was quite dark, and he couldn’t see particularly far inside. The smell was another story. Regardless, he ignited his lightsaber and sliced a whole through the grate, taking a step into the sewage tunnel. He didn’t have to turn around to know Leia was following as she drew a torch from her pack to take a look around.

“Are you sure we couldn’t just go through the front gate?” Luke asked, annoyed by the wetness that had begun to seep into his boots from the sewage water. It wasn’t particularly deep, only an inch or two high, but it was enough to make him uncomfortable and damp.

Leia sighed at her brother’s whining. Sometimes, she couldn’t believe that _she_ was the princess and Luke was the farmboy. “The entrance is caved in, and this is the only way to avoid perimeter patrols.”

Finally, light appeared that did not come from Leia’s flashlight and they located a maintenance shaft. The pair set about climbing the shaft, though it was clear no maintenance had been done here in the past thirty years.

Reaching the top first, Luke took off his boots one by one, flipping them and shaking the water from inside—Leia rolling her eyes as she stowed her torch and forced open the door into the main building.

As the door slid open, Luke froze mid-activity to gaze out into the foyer of the senate building. The building was grand, though wear and abandonment had begun to take over. There was no power in the building, and the roof had caved in on the east side, letting in light from the outside to pour in.

“Records and administration should be in the attached West corridor,” Leia said, waiting for Luke expectantly.

He rushed to get his boots back on, following on her heels.

Some of the statues in the building had fallen over, trash strewn across the floor. A window had been smashed, and the inner doors remained opened instead of sealed.

“Do you think the records are still here?” Luke asked, lips pursed. “It looks like this place has been looted a few times.”

Leia nodded, having noticed the same. “I hope so. Datacrons full of government data administration from thirty years ago aren’t really hot ticket items on the black market.”

“Information is a commodity,” Luke replied, doubtful.

“Sure. Shipments, credit trails, business transactions… but birth records? Marriage certificates? There’s got to be something left here,” she reasoned, taking careful steps through the halls of the senate building.

Finally, they reached a large set of doors with a sign that read “Administration” and Leia grinned triumphantly at her brother.

Luke followed her inside, and they were met with endless stacks of a library-like room.

Leia immediately made her way to the main terminal, giving it a whack to encourage it into turning on.

Luke had a different approach, making his way to the stacks to search for a few keywords he had thought up on the way. He could hear Leia struggling with the machine and wished suddenly that they hadn’t left R2 with their ship.

“Guess we’ll have to do this the old-fashioned way,” Leia sighed, also making her way deep into the stacks.

She began with the word that tied them closest to what they were looking for — Skywalker. When she reached the right section, she pulled out her datapad, and jacked in the datacron to begin combing through the records.

Elsewhere in the room, Luke had sat himself on the floor doing something similar under the letter “J”. He sighed when nothing came up, however. “There’s no record of the word “Jedi” anywhere in here,” he commented. “Just… completely wiped from history.”

“We already knew that,” Leia replied, not looking up from her own tablet.

“Yeah,” Luke said wistfully. “I guess I just never really looked like this before. It’s so deliberate.”

Smiling, Leia looked up him, her face illuminated by the glow of her datapad. “We can make a _new_ history for the Jedi.”

He nodded back at her, happy with her solidarity. As many doubts as he had about her commitment to the training, whether she was just doing it for his sake or not, he was glad she was there with him.

“Too bad we have no record of Jedi Knight Anakin, though.”

“No,” Leia said, “but I did find some interesting Skywalker records here.”

“Really?”

“Yeah—this one’s interesting. Shmi Skywalker, Tatooine, marriage license to Cleigg Lars.”

That got Luke’s attention and he made his way over to his sister, sliding down next to her on the floor against the stacks to get a better look at her pad.

“Lars! That’s… that has to be our grandmother,” Luke said, excited by this prospect.

Leia nodded in agreement, her lip wrinkling as she continued to read.

“What?” Luke said, reading the disturbance in her features.

“Death certificate,” she said shortly. “Just a few years later. Raiders.”

Luke grimaced, all too familiar with the hardship of life on that planet.

“Certificate was registered by Anakin, but nothing else here about him,” Leia informed him, the speed of her searching having reached its peak as she scrolled through the records.

“Can you cross-reference the date on the certificate with his name? Maybe around that same time.”

Leia nodded in response, already doing so.

“Anything?”

“Hold on!” She hissed, annoyed by his impatience. Leia continued to search until she came across another mention of Anakin Skywalker’s name under another category.

“Well?”

“Not sure,” Leia replied. “Docking fees for a starship on various planets under his name. Mostly Coruscant, and then two on Naboo just a few days before the date on Shmi’s death certificate. Looks like he might have left Naboo, and then returned just a few days later after her death.”

“Why Naboo? What was he doing there?”

Leia shrugged. “There’s nothing about his activities, no other purchases or hotel rooms—nothing.”

“Why kind of ship did he have?”

“Is that relevant?” Leia questioned.

It was Luke’s turn to shrug. “I’m a pilot!” He said. “So was Vader. I’m interested!”

“Looks like a Naboo Royal Starship,” Leia replied, tone of surprise in her voice. “I don’t think it was Vader’s.”

“What’s the registration code?” Luke asked, getting up to search another set of stacks. “I can search the vehicle registry.”

“It’s a J-type 327, NB-7856T,” Leia read aloud.

“Looks like only royalty of the Naboo used that class of ships. That one is registered to… Padme Amidala,” he said, scrolling for more information.

“I know that name,” Leia responded.

Luke turned back to look at her, scrutiny in his expression.

Leia grimaced, turning back to her own datapad to start searching for records of her. “Where do I know that name from?”

“It says that she was Queen of Naboo for four years, 3245 to 3249.”

“That’s during the Invasion of Naboo,” Leia said. “I must have read about it before.”

“I never really got any mid-rim history lessons on Tatooine,” Luke replied. “What happened there?”

“The Trade Federation tried to force the queen to ratify an invasion of the Naboo as legitimate which then sparked a war that united the planet but led to Palpatine’s rise as Supreme Chancellor in the senate,” she explained as though reciting from a textbook.

Luke looked a bit dejected. “Maybe that’s how Anakin met Palpatine, on Naboo.”

Leia shrugged and continued to look through records from Naboo during the week of Anakin’s visit. “My father mentioned someone named Padme a few times, I think,” Leia mused aloud.

Having moved on from vehicle registrations, Luke continued searching for personal records on Padme Amidala. There appeared to be much history on her in the records, bills and laws and policies that gave him little interest but might have made more sense to his sister.

“This queen is the complete opposite of Palpatine,” Luke commented in his search. “She fought for democracy from the age of twelve until Empire Day, when she died. She’s pretty too.”

At that, Leia stood up from the floor, suddenly overcome by an odd sensation. She squeezed herself in at her brother’s side to get a glimpse of his datapad and let out a gasp.

Luke turned to her with wide eyes.

“That’s her,” Leia said, her voice a whisper.

“You’re sure?” Luke asked, though he didn’t really need the reassurance.

“I would recognize her in a crowd of hundreds.”

“Padme Amidala Naberrie,” Luke read.

Leia swallowed thickly, sliding herself down against the stacks to sit back down on the floor.

Luke looked down, taking a seat next to her and reaching his arm around her shoulders. “Are you alright?” He asked.

Leia nodded, taking a moment. “I’ve spent so much time just… wondering if that face was real, or if I had just made her up. I can’t possibly remember her, and yet, I do… it’s like—”

“Like an echo?”

“Exactly.”

“Let’s take these datacrons,” Luke said, standing up and already dismantling them from the shelf. “We can study this back on Yavin IV.”

Leia agreed, also pulling any traces of the senator from the shelves. “I’d like to go to Naboo,” she told him. “There must be more there.”

“Alright,” Luke replied with a nod. “I’d like that too. But first, I think it’s time we went to Ilum for you to take the trials and become a Jedi Knight. You’re ready, Leia.”

——————

**PRESENT DAY NABOO - 22 YEARS BEFORE THE BATTLE OF YAVIN:**

“Did you grow up in a palace like this?” Luke asked curiously as they exited the palace grounds.

Right outside the gates, there was a busy roadway where vendors and food stalls had set up shop. Luke stopped by a juice stand, ordering himself a glass of some sort of citrus fruit to which Leia had politely declined.

“A little bit,” Leia responded. “On Alderaan, our cities were all designed to blend into the nature around them. Aldera City looked like the mountains that surrounded it; it was all a bit more… subtle.”

Taking a sip of the drink, Luke licked his lips and turned back to his sister curiously. “Did you want to visit? While we’re here?”

Leia paused. “I don’t know,” she replied honestly.

“I’d like to see it,” he told her. “ _The planet of beauty._ I’d like to know your history too.”

She smiled in response. “It’s a peaceful planet. Maybe one day, we could retire there. We could have a garden; you could enter the local speeder races…”

“Oh,” he said, shocked.

Leia narrowed her eyes at him.

“I didn’t think you knew that word,” he commented.

“What?”

“Retirement,” he reiterated. “I think if you stop working, you might explode.”

Leia rolled her eyes. “I know how to relax.”

Luke looked skeptical. “I’ve never seen it,” he said, and she ripped the drink out of his hands loudly sipping up the rest of it. “Hey!”

Before he could grab it back, Leia started off down the street, leaving her brother in the dust.

“Leia!” He called out, chasing after her.

All of the buildings here looked the same to Luke, their domed roofs blending together after a while. He was careful to keep up with Leia, who seemed to be heading somewhere with purpose, lest he become lost in the streets.

Eventually, they stumbled across a clearing, what appeared to be the very edge of the city when Luke finally caught up with his sister and fell in step next to her.

He hadn’t noticed before, but the city was elevated above the landscape around it. Leia had brought him to a scenery of endless waterfalls, rivers, lakes, and lush grassy plains that stretched for miles before them.

“This is breathtaking,” he said, smiling.

“Below Theed are tunnels and walkways, they span the entire city. I’ve never been, but someone told me about them a long time ago,” Leia explained.

“If we’d grown up here, I bet we would have known them like the back of our hands,” Luke said, knowing the adventurous drive he’d had in his youth. Leia might have been the picturesque dutiful princess, but he knew that she also couldn’t resist chasing any bit of excitement that came her way.

She nodded, imagining the same. The galaxy had never been the same after the Empire had come to power, and it had never quite recovered afterward, regardless of her attempts to fix it. Leia also knew that Luke was wrong.

“We wouldn’t have grown up here,” Leia started. “They would have taken us away.”

Luke looked at her curiously.

“The Jedi,” she said. “That’s what they do here. They take force-sensitive children from their families; as young as possible to make sure they don’t form any personal attachments.”

“How do you know that?” Luke asked, dismayed by this information. As much as he had discovered about the Force and Jedi teachings, he realized that he knew very little about the inner workings of the Jedi Order as an institution.

“Anakin told me,” she answered simply.

“Padme wouldn’t let that happen,” he replied sternly.

Leia didn’t look so sure. After all, what did they really know about her?

“She’s a senator,” he insisted. “She has power here. And Anakin would have stopped them. We know he turns on the Order. Maybe that’s part of the reason.”

“And you still want to talk to them?” Leia asked, already feeling like she’d proven her point. “You still think that we need their help?”

“Maybe not the Order,” he said. “But I trust Yoda. And Ben. Surely you do too, Leia. You named your son after him!”

“My father trusted him,” Leia said. “He told me so many stories about the Clone Wars, about the great Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi. But those are just stories. I’ve never even met the man!”

“He was good!” Luke insisted, annoyed that his sister was acting this way. He thought she had lost her cynicism years ago. “He brought me to you, didn’t hesitate for even a moment when you called for his help. He died for us, Leia!”

Leia sighed, biting her bottom lip and looking away.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I know he was a good man. But I can sense something about the Jedi here, Luke. They’re not what you think they are.”

“I trust your instincts,” Luke said, wrapping his arm around his sister’s shoulder. “But I trust Ben too. I know he would do anything to help us.”

“They weren’t happy to let us go last time,” Leia said, remembering Yoda’s insistence on Geonosis that they return to the Temple escorted. “If they get the chance, I’m afraid they won’t let it happen again.”

“Master Yoda would say fear is a path to the dark side.”

“Fear is necessary for survival,” Leia argued. It was a platitude the two of them had often fought over. “You ran away from it for six years.”

Luke sighed, finally admitting defeat. “Maybe, like me, the Jedi have made all the wrong choices and created something they couldn’t possibly face. No one’s infallible.”

“I’m going to save Anakin and stop the Empire,” Leia told him determinedly. “And I won’t let the Jedi get in my way.”

"Who are you really trying to save, Leia?"

"What does it matter?" Leia asked.

"I'm worried that you're doing this for all the wrong reasons."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really tried to get this out on May the 4th, and just missed it by an hour!
> 
> Hope everyone had a great Star Wars Day, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter =)
> 
> ALSO: I hope it's clear where the flashback starts and returns to present day, wasn't sure how to format it to make it obvious


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